The Days We Have Forgotten
by TheChemistJorax
Summary: It is hard living day by day when your past happens to be far more appealing than the present. Luckily, there is always a future to fight for. AU Alert! Created from a request for a "dramatic high school AU". Hopefully I'll do you proud, my friend.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this was a request by a person to make a "dramatic high school AU featuring Shep and Miri". There are a lot of those around though, so I wanted this to be something different, not just the same old story with a different title and writing style. Anywho, even though it's not your _exact _request, my friend, they _are_ _technically_ in high school. That's good, right? Haha I probably messed this up so bad I won't be getting another request from you anytime soon :p. I suuuuck at drama. Oh well, I'm invested now so we'll all have to suffer through.

Anywho, to the rest of you. This is modern day AU. No aliens, I'm afraid. It's going to feel rather implausible at times, but that's kind of the style I'm going for? You know, like a nineties tv show haha. Hopefully you enjoy it.

**_WARNING PLEASE READ: _**The are mentions of physical abuse in this story. There will be no graphic descriptions by any means, but the topic will be touched upon in multiple chapters. I know what it is like to be triggered so please, take good care of yourself and make sure you aren't reading anything that will upset you. I want everyone to be happy :)

* * *

Jane Shepard took a heavy breath before passing through the doorway. She had gotten turned around in the hallway and had been searching for her class on the other side of the building for about three minutes before realizing her mistake. That, coupled with the time it took her to ask for the proper location and make her way there, meant she was a whopping six minutes late on her first day.

Already things had not been going her way and it was only fifth period. Sure, the people were friendly enough, but it was already six months into the school year, cliques were established and friendships formed long ago. She had been having to settle for the seats in the front of the class and answering 'getting to know you' questions in front of her new peers all morning.

It was funny how the teachers thought they were helping to break the ice by making her stand up in front of the whiteboard and give a quick rundown of her backstory, when really they were only succeeding in making her feel even more uncomfortable. She would have been fine with a curt nod of acknowledgement and a seat in the far back corner. It wasn't that she was particularly shy or self-conscious, but she had never been the type to draw unnecessary attention to herself.

She was pleasantly surprised to step into the class and find that it was rather small, there had to be less than twenty kids in attendance. That was certainly a relief, as thus far she had been stuck in classes averaging around twenty five or more. She chalked it up to the fact that this was a higher level course. Perhaps science wasn't everyone's forte in this new city of hers.

Shepard didn't consider herself particularly smart. She wasn't one of those 'gifted' children where everything came naturally. She was however dedicated and a hard worker, taking the time to understand any task presented before her.

The teacher at the head of the room turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. He didn't give her time to explain before he spoke. "I would assume you're Jane?"

She nodded, hugging the binder in her arms close to her chest. "Yes sir. I'm sorry I'm late. I got a bit turned around."

He smiled at her kindly, and her shoulders sagged in relief. A teacher really could make or break any subject for the year. "It's no problem at all. We're actually getting ready to start a test, so this is a bit of a free period for you. Go wait over by my desk, we need to discuss what you have and haven't gone over already."

She beamed at him, nodding before doing as she was bid. This Mr. Anderson looked to be the prime candidate for favorite teacher of the year. She waited patiently as he passed out the exams, scanning the classroom over for any familiar faces from her previous classes. There were a few, but she found herself unable to recall any names.

While the students worked, Mr. Anderson dragged a chair behind his desk for Shepard to take a seat in. They conversed quietly as the period passed, going over what Shepard had been covering in her previous school and comparing it to the schedule he had his class set on. She had missed a few of the lessons, as her teacher had set them up to be covered closer to the end of the year, but she assured the man she was a fast leaner. He had smiled at that, and had suggested they set just a few days to meet up after school to catch her up just in case.

It was a relief, to be honest. The class testing meant that they were just finishing up a unit. She would be able to start off on the same track with her peers the next day. It was a far better situation than the math class she had just come out of. The class was right in the middle of a unit she had not even been close to covering in her old school. Shepard had a lot of catching up to do, which was concerning considering math was one of her weaker subjects.

Time passed quickly as she spoke with Anderson, as she found his conversation rather pleasant. He seemed like he would be a fair teacher, one that expected respect, but earned it rather than demanded it. When the students had all turned in their exam, there was about five minutes left in the period. He allowed them to converse amongst themselves for the remainder of the time, and directed Shepard towards an empty seat in the second row.

The girl who sat just to the left of the desk smiled up at her shyly as she approached. "Hey, I'm Samantha Traynor." Shepard warmed to her instantly, offering a cheerful grin in return. The girl all but radiated kindness, and Shepard found herself grateful for her luck in seatmate. "Jane, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," She replied, and glanced down sheepishly, "you can just call me Shepard though. I'm not a huge fan of Jane."

Before Samantha could respond, the boy seated just in front of her spun around in his chair. "Oh," he mocked, "the new girl's mysterious _and _edgy."

Though his words were less than welcoming, the mischievous twinkle in his eye revealed he was nothing more than a harmless wiseass. His face was too kind for that of a bully's, and the cap lodged firmly on his head despite the no hat policy of the school hinted that perhaps the nuances of social graces merely weren't his forte. Shepard decided quickly that she wasn't offended.

"Lay off, Joker," The girl to his left chastised him disinterestedly as though keeping him in line was an everyday occurrence. Her long dark hair rolled off of her shoulders as she tilted her head back almost comically to get a look at her newest classmate. "Just ignore him," she said smoothly, "he never shuts up."

Shepard nodded her understanding before shooting the boy a smirk. "Joker, huh? Big Batman fan?"

His eyes narrowed, and he lowered his voice menacingly in response. "I'm an agent of chaos."

She chuckled good-naturedly at the imitation. "That wasn't half bad," she admitted truthfully, glad she didn't have to lie to stay on his good side.

He beamed, and the girl beside him spun around in her chair as well, brown eyes flashing with warning. "Don't encourage him. Trust me, you'll regret it later."

"You wound me, Ash," He said with mock sorrow, clutching at his chest dramatically.

She rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored his antics. "I'm Ashley," she offered then with a curt nod.

Shepard returned the gesture, feeling more at ease in the class already. So far, the people she had sat next to had either seemed disinterested, or too shy to really offer much in way of conversation, which she honestly couldn't blame them for. Luckily, these three seemed pretty willing to accept an outsider into their group without kicking up much of a fuss.

Samatha leaned in closer, holding out her hand, "You have your schedule?"

"Uh, yeah. Hold on," Shepard mumbled as she opened her binder and shuffled through the haphazard stack of papers within. The day wasn't over, but due to the amount of catching up she had to do in her classes she had had an unreasonable amount of packets and syllabi thrown at her thus far. "Aha," she exclaimed triumphantly when she finally procured the correct document. She slid it across the tabletop into Samantha's eagerly awaiting hands.

"Oh," she exclaimed happily after a moment, "she has lunch with us next, Jeff." He mumbled something unintelligible in response and Samantha looked up at Shepard a bit shyly. "You can sit with us, if you want. I mean, if you hadn't already talked about it with anybody." She glanced away. "It's fine if you don't want to."

"That would be great," Shepard cut in politely, saving the girl from her own rambling. "Thanks."

Joker glanced between the two girls, wearing a wry smile while Ashley craned her neck to take a look at the schedule for herself. "We're in the same gym period," she mused quietly. "Not the same teacher though, so that won't really matter."

"How does that work?" Shepard asked curiously.

"There's four different teachers to cover all of the years. They have two classes running at once and just split the gym in half." She gave an impartial shrug. "Sometimes we'll play a game against each other, but not often."

Shepard was going to respond, but the bell rang and suddenly the class was filled with the sounds of binders slamming shut and bags zipping closed. Samantha returned Shepard's schedule and then stood, collecting her own belongings as she did so. "Jeff and I will show you the cafeteria."

"Sure," Joker grumbled as he too stood, "just offer my services without consent."

* * *

Just like it had been back home, the defining trait of the large cafeteria was that it was obnoxiously loud. Four years of students intermingled to create a swirling storm of shouting and laughter. The sheer number of people was more than a little overwhelming, and Shepard found herself immensely glad she had been seated next to Samantha because she had no clue what she would have done if she had been faced with having to find her own seat in the already overcrowded tables. She probably would have panicked and hid in the bathrooms if she were being totally honest.

Hadn't she seen that in a movie somewhere?

"This is Kaidan," Samantha informed her as they took a seat with Joker at a mostly empty table. "Kaidan, this is-"

"Jane," he supplied, offering a welcoming smile. "I know, we're in the same math class."

Shepard grimaced, paling slightly as she tried to place him. If he hadn't said anything she would have sworn before court that she had never met the kid in her life. Apparently sensing her panic, he offered a kind smile. "Don't worry about it, I sit way behind you."

Grateful for the out, she returned the smile. "Sorry about that. It's been a long day."

"I can imagine," He replied. "Lots of new faces I'm sure."

She was going to respond in the affirmative when they were interrupted. "You're new here, aren't you?" The voice was smooth and sickly sweet, almost velvety.

Shepard glanced up to find a girl she hadn't met before standing over her with a wide smile. Objectively, she was gorgeous, but Shepard didn't miss the almost menacing glint in her gaze. She was being appraised, her worth was getting evaluated.

"Get lost, Maya. There's no one here for you to brainwash," Joker replied before Shepard had even formed a response. Samantha shot him a warning look, keen to tamper down any beginning signs of potential altercations.

"I wasn't talking to you," She spat back as though even acknowledging his presence was beneath her.

"Come on guys," Kaidan said with a tired sigh, "grow up." Samantha gave him a grateful smile as he too seemed reluctant to start a fight.

Clearly bored with their passive attitudes, the girl Shepard now knew as Maya clucked her tongue and crinkled her nose in disgust. "If you ever get bored of hanging out with these losers, you should come find me."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Shepard replied dryly.

Obviously the sarcasm in her tone was missed as the girl flashed Joker a triumphant smirk and spun on her heels to make for a table across the lunchroom with purpose. Kids stepped out of her path with haste as soon as they saw her approach. It would have been unsettling, if Shepard weren't so overcome with annoyance.

"Wow," she drawled as she watched Maya take a seat at a table absolutely overflowing with obviously gussied up girls, "charming."

Joker snorted as he rustled through his bag, pulling out a brown paper sack. "And that was the queen bee of our school. As you can imagine, the word 'bee' can easily be interchanged with "bitc-"

"Joker," Kaiden interrupted warningly. He gave Shepard a strained smile as he pulled out his own lunch. "Just stay out of her way and she'll leave you alone. We're high enough on the totem pole that she just ignores us."

"Usually," Samantha muttered bitterly before taking a bite out of the sandwich she had brought. There was obviously a history there, and Shepard felt a pang of anger strike through her. The girl was nothing but kind, there was no call for being cruel to her.

"She's awful," Joker griped. "All of freshman year she was totally cool and then she got an ounce of power and it went straight to her head. She's gets off on torturing people now. Manipulates everyone into doing her bidding."

"What made her change?" Shepard found herself genuinely curious. If her mom had been there, she would be laughing. She was forever teasing Shepard for her inquisitive side and penchant for getting mixed up in her friend's personal problems both quickly and frequently.

"Moved up the line of succession. Since middle school this girl Miranda was like the empress of the Stuck Up Girls Club. Seriously, typical rich bitch. And then I dunno," he shrugged, "she just kinda disappeared and Maya took over."

"She moved away?" Shepard questioned interestedly.

It was Kaidan who answered that time. "Nope, just sort of faded into the background. She still goes here, but she's never around her old group anymore. Everyone just sort of figures they must have had a falling out and every one of their friends took Maya's side."

"Wow, this place is pretty dramatic," Shepard replied with a laugh.

Joker scoffed. "Trust me, you'll be bored out of your skull by the end of the week."

* * *

Samantha was kind enough to show her to the gym before hastily running off to her own class after lunch was let out. Shepard called out her thanks before passing through the doors in search of her teacher. It was a bit of a relief after all of her previous professors had been stressing about how much catch up work she would be having to do, meeting the grizzled man who would be conducting the class.

He went by Hackett, and Kaidan had informed her earlier through mouthfuls of bagel that he was forcibly retired from being a cop after taking a bullet to the leg and now needed a hobby to see him through his golden years. She was pleased to find he was approachable, perhaps not as affable as Mr. Anderson, but certainly fair as long as he wasn't crossed.

It was also nice to see that in her new school gym was treated as a total joke. The two classes separated on opposite sides of the gymnasium and their teachers told them what sport they would be playing. From there, they were given whatever equipment they needed, divided into teams, and the rest was pretty much a free for all. Today, they were given a basketball and set loose.

Most of the boys took to the game with gusto, and though quite a few of the girls joined in, many stood in an out of the way corner of the court in a circle chatting animatedly with one another. Shepard peered over at the other class that occupied the second court on the opposite side of the gym, and watched with a grin as she noticed Ashley giving the boys in her group a run for their money. Happy to be able to relieve some of the day's stress, Shepard followed her lead.

After catching the ball on a rebound and effortlessly tipping it into the hoop to make her fourth consecutive basket, Shepard heard a low whistle. She turned to find a boy standing behind her, carrying a surprising bulk of muscles for one so young. He was a couple inches taller than her so she was forced to look up at him, but she couldn't find him intimidating in the least despite his stature. There was too much honesty in his smile, and warmth in his gaze.

"Wow, Lola. That was quite a shot," he offered sincerely. "You're pretty good at this."

She smiled politely. "Thanks, but it's uh, Jane, actually."

He grinned. "I'll stick with Lola. It suits you."

An eyebrow was raised at the comment, but Shepard didn't protest. Honestly, as long as he didn't turn out to be an asshole any name was fine by her. "And you are?"

"James," another boy suddenly called out, "move your ass or get off the court." Their attention both snapped to their classmate as they realized they had been conversing in the middle of the court while the others had been trying to play around them. They both laughed, and got back down to business.

At the end of class, after she had changed and collected her belongings, he approached her once more. "Good game, Lola," he praised her, offering a hand.

She took it happily, giving it a hearty shake. They had been on opposite sides and his team had lost by a good couple of points. She was pleased to see he was a gracious loser and far from the hotheaded bodybuilder his appearance suggested.

"So where you off to now?" He asked conversationally.

She fumbled with the binder in her hands for a moment, searching for the piece of paper that seemed chronically misplaced. After a few moments she managed to track it down. "Uh," she drawled out as she glanced over the sheet, "political science with Udina."

He grimaced. "Yikes, that's a bummer."

Her face fell at the comment. "Bad class?"

"Bad teacher," he corrected her sympathetically. He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Just keep your head down, you'll be alright. Speak when spoken to and all that." He visibly brightened as a thought struck him. "Hey, you should meet up with a buddy of mine, Cortez. Steve's in that class, star pupil because he's such a suck up," he said with a laugh. "Stick with him, he'll take care of ya."

She beamed up at him. "Thanks, James."

"No problem, Lola."

* * *

As it turned out, James was able to walk with her to class, and they bumped into his friend Steve along the way. Shepard thanked James for his help and trailed Steve into the class. She felt a bit bad for practically dumping herself on the kid, but he didn't seem bothered in the least.

He waited up front for her while she approached the teacher and the rest of the kids trailed slowly into the room. Udina seemed less than enthused about the new addition to his class. She was ordered to get the notes she had missed from another student and catch up on her own time. Clearly dismissed, Shepard awkwardly shuffled back to Steve's side.

"Wow," she mouthed.

He chuckled, and nodded his head towards a few empty desks on the left side of the room. "Come on, you can sit next to me."

She gave him a curious look. "There's no assigned seating?"

Steve merely rolled his eyes. "Udina would have to remember our names for that."

They sat down side by side and Shepard copied Steve as he pulled out a notebook and opened to a fresh page. "Basically," he said with a soft sigh, "he talks at us for forty five minutes and we write it down. Every once in awhile there's a test."

"Riveting," Shepard replied with a groan.

Steve smiled knowingly, but Shepard was distracted by the two girls who had just entered. People had been trailing in constantly since she had come in but one of the girls certainly was an attention grabber. She wore baggy cargo pants and an extremely oversized black sweater. The part that had caught Shepard's notice however was the fact that her head was completely shaven. The girl next to her was her complete opposite. She possessed a wild mop of red hair and a blinding smile. They seemed so out of place together, and yet took two seats side by side.

Focused as she was on them, Shepard hardly noticed a third party come in. Another girl had entered, though she immediately distinguished herself from the other two. Unlike most of the other students in the school who slinked and slouched about the halls, she stood straight and tall, head held high as she moved with purpose to the back of the room.

"Here comes the queen," the bald headed girl sneered as the newest entry passed by her desk, and jutted out a leg to trip her up. The girl didn't respond however, gracefully stepping over the appendage without a backwards look before taking a seat along the back wall. Her nonchalance about the personal attack was probably due to experience, as her antagonist appeared the type who enjoyed inflicting misery on others, but Shepard found she wouldn't be surprised to discover that the girl sitting alone in the back of the room was the kind of person that was always two steps ahead of the game. She just appeared so disinterested in the whole situation, so disconnected from the students around her and so unreasonably calm for a hormone riddled teenager.

"Lay off, Jack," the redhead who had entered with the clear troublemaker admonished quietly. "Don't be such an ass."

Shepard was surprised when who she could now identify as Jack merely scowled at the reprimand and didn't lash out either verbally of physically. She seemed the type who would be inclined to do either, or on a bad day, both. Instead, she crossed her arms and slouched low in her seat while grumbling out childishly, "she started it."

"Three years ago," the other girl returned easily as if they had had the conversation a thousand times.

Steve had by then noticed Shepard's clear interest in the development and leaned over her desk, whispering conspiratorially so as not to be overheard. "Kelly is the only one who can keep Jack in line," he supplied. "Her parents took Jack in as a foster sometime during middle school, ended up adopting her. I'd keep my distance if I were you. I've never talked to her personally but I've heard some pretty crazy rumors. She's got a mean temper, and apparently Kelly's her only soft spot. I heard she once threw a kid into a wall in the eighth grade just for touching her."

Shepard ignored the crude gossip of what could have very likely been an imaginary fight as her heart softened at the information. "She was an orphan?" she questioned, sympathy pooling through her.

He looked hesitant to continue for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "Look, I won't pretend I know much, but I guess it was an abuse case or something. I don't know the details, but I hear those big sweatshirts she wears hide some messed up scars."

"Wow," Shepard sighed out sadly in disbelief, "that's terrible."

Steve gave her a serious look. "Don't go spreading the news though. I like being alive."

She grimaced, understanding the implication. "Yeah, no worries, buddy." Shepard glanced back over at the pair, wondering how many people in the school feared Jack, and how many of those fears were justified, before her eyes travelled over to the girl Jack had been targeting. Her head was bent as she leant over a notebook, scribbling furiously. The class hadn't even started yet, Shepard couldn't imagine what she was possibly writing. Curiosity thoroughly peeked, she consulted Steve once more. "Do you, uh, know what Jack's issue with her is?"

Steve followed her line of sight, and he surprised her by chuckling. "Well, Jack has an issue with everyone. She just targets her frustrations on Miranda." He shrugged, although Shepard's attention didn't rest on him at the moment and the action was lost on her. "Maybe the girl just looked at her funny one day. I dunno, but if I were you I wouldn't pry. Seriously, just stay out of Jack's way."

"Fair enough," Shepard mumbled without turning away. As if she had belatedly heard Steve whispering her name, Miranda glanced up. Her vibrant blue eyes narrowed as her gaze connected with Shepard's, and Shepard flushed in embarrassment at being caught staring before quickly spinning around in her seat to face front.

Steve chuckled knowingly beside her. "I'd steer clear of her too. She might not be as violent as Jack, but it seems like she's got a few issues of her own."

Shepard nodded her understanding, but was a bit too distracted to fully absorb her new friend's warnings. She was too busy wondering if that Miranda was the very same one Joker and Kaidan had been discussing over lunch. Curiosity overwhelming her, Shepard risked a sly peek over her shoulder. Miranda had her head bent over the paper once more, pen moving obscenely quickly. Not wanting to be caught snooping twice in one class, Shepard forced herself to face forward again.

Luckily, the bell rang and the students who had been loitering around the aisles took their seats, which served as a nice distraction. Unluckily, as soon as Udina stood before the class and started droning on in a slow drawling tone, Shepard realized the man would do little to hold her interest. She forced herself to jot down as much information as she could tolerate, but soon found her mind wandering to other topics.

Between Miranda's falling out with Maya's gang and her apparent ongoing war with Jack, there was a lot to ponder. Still, she had to try to focus on her work.

After all, it really was none of her business.

* * *

A/N: I hope that wasn't too boring. I know starting chapters can sometimes be a drag. Anywho, I am having fun with this, so I hope it will be entertaining for you guys. I'm trying to make both the dialogue and narration feel age appropriate for the kids so hopefully they sound natural. Also, haha, I basically just wrote about my old gym class. Good god my school was a hot mess with that. My gym teachers did not care at _all._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Clichés abound in the next installment of Shepard tackling high school!

* * *

The second day was far more tolerable than the first. Shepard was already navigating the halls with ease, and now that she had a few friendly faces to notice, she didn't feel quite so out of place anymore. Still, the early morning dragged as she fought to wake up properly, and by the time fifth period rolled around she was excited to meet up with those she could tentatively call friends once more.

Even though she was now aware of his presence, having Kaidan in her math class didn't really help, considering he sat just about as far from her as he possibly could. Shepard had always hated assigned seating. It didn't matter though, as she would see him at lunch soon enough.

In the meantime, fifth period was about to begin, and she could get to know Samantha, Ashley, and Joker a bit better before the bell rang. She was happily making her way over to her desk when she froze in her tracks. Just ahead of her, sitting silently in the back of the room, was Miranda. Once again, she was bent over a notebook, scribbling furiously, and Shepard was left wondering how she had possibly missed her the day before. Granted, she had not yet known who the girl was, but even still…

A rough jostling of her elbow knocked Shepard out of her musings, and she turned her head to see Joker pushing past her with a grin. "Did you forget which spot was yours?"

She let out a forced laugh and nodded, preferring to look stupid than admit that she had been staring. "I'm awful at keeping track of stuff like that," she lied, quickly trailing him to her seat.

Samantha was nowhere to be found, but there was still a couple of minutes left for her to turn up before the bell rang. Ashley was already planted firmly in her chair, one hand mindlessly twirling a pencil on her desk. She only stopped when both of her friends were finally seated.

"You survived," she directed at Shepard with a mischievous smirk. Shepard merely chuckled in response. "Sorry I didn't have time to say 'hi' before gym started."

"That's alright," Shepard replied quickly. "I met this pretty nice guy called James so I didn't feel too out of place for long."

"I noticed." Ashley's eyes flashed with mirth. "I also saw you give him a good beat down on the court." She nodded approvingly. "Good girl."

Joker scoffed. "You are the _weirdest _girlfriend in the history of girlfriends."

"Because you have so much experience?" Ashley shot back smoothly without missing a beat. With Joker effectively silenced, she glanced back at Shepard with a grin.

"You and James are dating?" Shepard was a tad surprised. The entire time they had been in the gym, neither had interacted with the other in the slightest. Not to mention the way Ashley was talking about him now as though he were nothing more than an annoyance. She wondered briefly if the two were having issues and she should maybe distance herself from the guy in case it looked like she was choosing sides.

Shepard made a mental note to question Samantha about it later, because as nice as Ashley was, she could tell that being on her bad side wouldn't be pleasant.

Ashley offered a noncommittal shrug. "He's a good guy, but sometimes his ego runs away with him. I enjoy watching him get taken down a few pegs every once in awhile."

"Sicko," Joker muttered under his breath.

Ashley shot him a look, but Samantha's frantic arrival distracted anyone from discussing the topic further. She all but collapsed on her desk, breathless.

"Whatcha do, get lost?" Joker questioned.

"No," she glanced away sheepishly, clearly avoiding the question.

Ashley spun around in her chair, eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you went around the long way again." Samantha refused to answer or meet anyone's gaze. "Sammy, you can't let her make you late to class."

"I didn't," she defended quietly through heavy pants. "I made it."

"After losing a lung," Joker muttered.

After elbowing him lightly, Ashley turned her attention back to her other friend. "You shouldn't have to walk around the entire building just to get to class. Just don't even acknowledge her and walk by. She can't touch you, not in the middle of the hallway. And if she gives you any trouble she can deal with me."

Shepard had been watching the exchange silently, feeling a bit out of place in the issue she knew nothing about. It didn't take long for her to grasp the topic of their discussion however. After the display at lunch the day before, Shepard had a pretty good idea who the nameless bully was.

Before Samantha could respond, the bell rang, and Anderson took his place at the front of the classroom while the students settled down. As it turned out, the next unit they would be working on was genetic traits and the like. Shepard felt a little relieved at that, as she had already covered some of the lesson in her previous school. It wasn't her strongest topic, but she could work her way around a punnett square well enough.

Class went by quickly and before she knew it, they were on their way to lunch. Kaidan was waiting for them, just like the day before, and he smiled warmly as they took their seats. The period of respite passed faster than she would have liked, but it wasn't a totally awful fate as she had the pleasure of demolishing James' team yet again during gym. Ashley gave her a thumbs up from across the room as soon as the period ended, to which the boy playfully scowled and warned Shepard that she wouldn't be so lucky next class.

After some playful ribbing they parted ways, and she was on her way to the final class of the day. Shepard moved through the halls quickly, stopping only when she caught a familiar sight. Samantha was at an open locker along the wall, shoving a large textbook into her backpack. A girl Shepard recognized as Kelly from the day before was standing by her side, chattering on excitedly. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Shepard was going to offer a polite wave and then carry on her way when she was stopped by a concerning sight.

Samantha had slammed her locker shut and spun around to head for her next class, unknowingly crashing into Maya who had been passing by right behind her. Her elbow knocking the books and binders cradled in the other girl's arms onto the floor with a loud crash.

That certainly wouldn't end well. Anxious, Shepard started towards them quickly.

"What the hell?" Maya cried, clearly irate. The two girls standing behind her, who Shepard could only assume were her underlings, each took an apprehensive step back. She wondered briefly how lonely it must be, having friends who were so obviously afraid of you.

"Sorry," Samantha practically shouted out in her panic, dropping to her knees in an instant to collect the other girl' belongings. "I'm really sorry. I didn't see you."

Kelly knelt beside her friend, helping her collect the scattered belongings. Maya wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Forget it. I don't want _her _touching my stuff."

"Let me just-" Kelly tried.

Maya interrupted her though. "I said drop it." Her command was venomous, her tone unforgiving enough that it forced the redhead to stand.

"Woah," Shepard said as soon as she had reached the scene. "Come on, Maya. Lay off, huh?" She gave her a pointed look as she stooped to relieve Samantha of the pile she had finished collecting, and shoved it into Maya's grasp. "It was just an accident."

"Who asked you?" The girl spat back defensively over her books. "You're just a-"

Shepard never found out what she was, because suddenly Maya's face twisted into a fearful expression. It looked so out of place with her usual self-assured attitude, but Shepard wasn't complaining. She spun around to see Jack glowering menacingly, lip curled up in a wicked sneer.

"I thought we already went over what would happen if I saw you fucking around with my sister again." Technically, the words formed a question, but Jack's tone suggested otherwise.

Maya's friends took another step back. Shepard kept the pecking order in mind. Jack was more feared than Maya, it was good information to have handy. She knew which side she'd prefer to be on in a pinch.

Though she tried to keep up an intimidating appearance, the wild energy emanating from Jack obviously had Maya ready to run scared. "Just keep the little klutz away from me, freak." Jack's eyes narrowed in response, but she lead her little army into a swift retreat before any retaliation could be made.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Shepard glanced over at her friend. "You okay?"

Samantha nodded, eyes trailing to the floor sheepishly. Kelly smiled beside her, obviously conveying her gratitude for Shepard's aid before shaking her head at her sister. "You're not really doing much to help the old reputation."

"Fuck them," Jack spat out bitterly. "I don't care about whatever shit they want to spread around." Shepard involuntarily leaned back as Jack's attention turned to her. She let out a heavy breath as she found no anger in the girl's gaze. "Looks like you made an enemy," She continued, a hint of appreciation in her voice.

It took a moment, but Shepard realized that for a person like Jack, those words were basically a handshake. This was a proclamation. It might not have exactly been friendship being presented, but it was the closest thing the girl was capable of offering. "Better than calling her friend."

Lips quirking up in an almost smile, Jack nodded her approval.

"Come on," Kelly interrupted them suddenly. "We can't be late again, Jack."

Her sister complied and they departed together, though Shepard could hear Jack grumbling about how Udina was a spineless asshole before they faded from view.

"I gotta run too," Shepard said, less than eager to be marked tardy. "You sure you're okay?" Samantha looked more embarrassed than affected by the situation as she nodded once more, and Shepard decided not to push the issue further. She knew that had the roles been reversed, she would probably just want the subject dropped as well. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she replied with a forced smile. "Thanks, Shepard."

* * *

It took some fancy footwork, but Shepard managed to maneuver the crowded hallways and make it to her desk with a little time to spare. Steve was laughing as she collapsed heavily into her seat, letting loose a tired sigh.

"Wow," he chuckled out. "Gym must have been intense."

"No," Shepard panted out. "I just couldn't wait to see Udina's face." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "He's so dreamy."

Steve was laughing louder then. "Careful, his hearing is better than you'd think."

"Wow, egotistical, abrasive, _and _superior hearing? He needs to give someone else a chance," Shepard responded, watching as the topic of their banter sat at his desk, ignoring the students around him as he intently scrolled through something or other on the computer in front of him. "How much do you want to bet he's looking at pictures of himself?"

Steve shoved her arm playfully before opening his notebook. "Shut up before you get us thrown out."

She was going to make some sort of witty retort when Jack's voice sounded from across the room and caught her attention.

"Make way for her majesty," the girl had said suddenly, jutting her leg out into the aisle between her row of desks and the next. Apparently, her favorite victim had just entered the classroom. Once again, without a word, Miranda gracefully stepped over her.

Shepard watched in awe, it was a near replica of the scene she had witnessed the day before. Was this honestly a daily event? What had Miranda done to piss Jack off so thoroughly? And why the heck didn't Miranda just get to her seat by going around the other side? She could easily avoid Jack altogether.

Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Jack was being cruel. Why did nobody care?

No, she had to stop, Shepard reminded herself. She had been warned away from Jack, and from what she had seen so far, for good reason. Now that it appeared she was on the girl's good side, she should count herself lucky and keep her distance. There was no reason to get into trouble. After all, Miranda looked positively unfazed by the taunts, as though she couldn't even hear them. She didn't need Shepard leaping to her defense.

It all came from Shepard's justice complex. Her mother always teased her about it, as it often got her into trouble. No need to start a fight now, especially not with Jack, and certainly not on behalf of someone she had never even met.

* * *

The remainder of the week passed by in a blur, as Shepard struggled to balance the growing mound of work being dumped on her with her budding social life. She unfortunately had to turn down a few of their invitations, as Anderson and a couple of other teachers had requested after school catch up sessions to get her on track, but eventually she had powered through those obligations and found herself accompanying Joker, Kaidan, and Samantha to the movie theater on a Sunday afternoon. It felt like a well deserved reprieve after a stressful week.

The film had been horrendous. Some unintelligent horror flick called _Binder, _trying to entice viewers with the promise of an original premise. In the end, it dissolved into the same hack n' slash tripe they were all used to seeing by that point in their lives. Still, she had enjoyed herself immensely, and felt genuinely grateful for her good fortune in finding such welcoming classmates in so short a time.

They had journeyed over to Joker's home afterwards, and he had proudly shown off his room to Shepard. She took the setup in with wide eyes, it was the average nerd's wet dream. Every gaming system she could name was present on the various shelves nailed into the wall over a modest sized television, as well as a few she couldn't. There was also an obviously expensive computer dwarfing his desk top that clearly saw frequent and vigorous use, as well as a laptop propped open beside it.

This was evidently a weekly event she was being let in on, as Samantha and Kaidan took seats on the edge of his mattress without a second thought, opening the bags they had brought with them to pull out laptops of their own, obviously ready for action.

And so they showed Shepard the wonders of Galaxy of Fantasy, an online role playing game she had never heard of before, a fact Joker had declared criminal. She was given his laptop for the afternoon, and suddenly she was swept up in some incomprehensible fantasy tale involving some imaginary alien mythology that was so complex she had a hard time believing it was just a made up universe.

Shepard had never been an avid gamer. She had dabbled here and there of course, but clearly she was dealing with professionals. Her three friends had accepted her into what Joker had referred to as their 'fleet', but she was having more than a little trouble keeping up with them. They worked like a well oiled machine, plowing through what Shepard imagined were other online players with little hesitation or error. She never wound up being a hindrance, but that was likely due to the fact she hung back most of the time to watch their artistry at work.

"It will get more interesting in a couple of weeks," Joker had assured her once when he had noticed her alien avatar had been still for quite some time. "The new expansion pack will be out then. I heard it's going to add on like hundreds of more hours of gameplay."

Beside her on the mattress came a scoff from Kaidan. "Sure, they always say stuff like that. What they really mean is ten hours of actual missions and then a million fetch quests." Samantha groaned at that in clear agreement, and though Shepard wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, she did her best to look solemn as well.

She wasn't always sure what she was doing, and she felt more than a little out of the loop, but the company was good, and the conversation playful. Before she knew it, it was time to go their separate ways.

* * *

"Great job, Jane," Anderson said as he handed her homework assignment back to her with a proud smile.

"Thank you, sir," she returned warmly as he moved on to hand back the next student's paper.

"Thank you, sir," Joker mocked in a sickly sweet voice.

Shepard grinned and stretched out a long leg to kick the back of his chair as soon as their teacher had turned around. He grunted, but otherwise was effectively silenced. Ashley snickered at the development.

It had been about two and a half weeks since Shepard had arrived at the school, and everyone had grown quite comfortable around one another. Shepard would join her friends for the occasional movie viewing after school, and every Sunday without fail they would meet up at Joker's to play their game together. She had fallen in with them easily, and already this new city was feeling more and more like home.

When the graded homework had all been passed back, Anderson returned to the front of the room. "As you all know, we've reached the end of the unit." A loud groan resounded throughout the class that caused him to chuckle and hold his hands up defensively. "Hear me out. I figured instead of making you all sit through another test, we could have a bit of fun."

That caught the students' attention. Most of them sat up a bit straighter in cautious interest. Sometimes teachers could have a pretty skewed idea of fun, so nobody let their hopes raise too high.

"I figured out a little project," he continued. There was another groan. "Come on, guys. It won't be too intricate, and I'll give you plenty of class time to work with your partners."

He retrieved a stack of papers from his desk, most likely the syllabus, before returning to his previous position. "Predicting the outcomes of crosses, a simple heredity study. You'll be taking the traits of two parents of your own creation, and enlightening me as to your prediction on what their offspring will inherit, just like we've practiced all week. Except this time we're going deeper."

"We go any deeper, we just raise the stakes," Joker called out.

A few of their classmates giggled in response, but Shepard just gave the back of his chair another kick. She might not have recognized what it was from, but knowing Joker it was an inane movie quote.

"Thank you, Mr. Moreau," Anderson replied dryly. "As I was saying, this will be far more detailed. By the end you're going to have something akin to a family tree created."

"When's the fun part you mentioned come in?" Joker mumbled under his breath, clearly less than thrilled with the assignment.

Anderson heard him. "I'm glad you asked. Try and get creative, guys. If you want horns and antenna to run in the family then go for it. As long as the work actually matches up, they can look as crazy as you like." Some of the boys snickered. "Nothing inappropriate, now," Anderson warned. He moved forward to pass out the syllabus. "Now remember, everything you need to know is on here, but if you have any question you should come up and ask me. I don't want anyone spending a whole period working on the wrong aspects. Keep in mind all of the key words we've been going over. Dominant versus recessive. Homozygous versus heterozygous. The syllabus is going to ask you to give examples in the people you create."

"It's Friday," Lizbeth reminded their teacher. She sat next to and was friendly with Ashley, but Shepard didn't know her very well as she mostly didn't converse with the rest of them. "What if we can't get together with our partner over the weekend?"

"Don't worry about that, I'm not expecting you to. You'll have today, Monday, and Tuesday to work together in class. Presentations will begin on Wednesday, and hopefully we'll get through everyone by Thursday."

Joker's hand shot up.

"Don't bother asking who is going first. I expect you _all _to be prepared on Wednesday. No slacking off because you think you'll be presenting the day after."

Joker's hand lowered.

"Okay," Anderson said, clapping his now empty hands together. "Partner up."

The classroom dissolved into chatter as everyone began shouting over one another at once, desperate to pair up with their friends. Shepard watched in amusement as Joker nudged Ashley with his elbow and waggled his eyebrows foolishly. She rolled her eyes and then shoved him away before partnering up with Lizbeth.

Joker seemed less than bothered by the development as he cupped his hands around his mouth and let out an obnoxious yell. "You got me, Jacob?"

A boy at the back of the room raised his fist in the air. "I always do, buddy."

"So," Shepard heard from beside her quietly. "Do you want to…" Samantha trailed off, unable to meet her eyes.

Shepard beamed. "Of course," she replied warmly.

Whether it was a fortunate or an unfortunate development that unfolded next would depend on who you asked. Either way, things didn't proceed exactly as planned.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I took forever on this. I'll try to get the next chapter up within the next two days, I just don't want to neglect my other story. It shouldn't be too rough because the rest of this story is all mapped out now so I'll be able to work more quickly for you. See ya soon.


	3. Chapter 3

It was all Emily Wong's fault. Her interference, coupled with Shepard's justice complex, is what set the whole train of events off.

Like Lizbeth, Emily was not all that well known to Shepard. They had talked a couple times, as she sat on Samantha's other side, but they weren't overly friendly with one another. Like Ashley, Emily seemed to be the sort of friend their little group hung out with only during school hours. She was never present for any of their afterschool antics or Joker's frequent movie nights.

Apparently though, unbeknownst to Shepard, she also happened to have partnered up with Samantha for every lab project in the class thus far. And so, when she inevitably asked Samantha to pair up with her and the girl awkwardly informed her that she was already taken, her face strangely twisted up into terror.

"You can't do this to me, Sam," she cried before spinning around in her chair to ask her friend behind her. Apparently that girl was already taken as well, as Emily was quickly facing forward once more, hands clasped together. "Joker, please," she begged.

His eyes shone with amusement as he glanced back at her. "No way, I'm not doing that to Jacob. It's too cruel."

"Ashley," she tried, turning her attention to the next seat over. "I will do anything you want. Anything. You can have my lunch money for the rest of the year."

Ashley flashed her a sympathetic smile. "You'll be alright, Em. It's only a couple of days."

"She'll eat me alive," Emily groaned, her face falling into her hands. "Please don't make me go back there."

"I'm sorry," Shepard whispered, leaning in towards Samantha. "What's the big deal?"

Her friend grimaced in response. "Nobody wants to work with _her_,_" _She nodded her head towards the back of the room. "Trust me."

Shepard turned in the proper direction to find Miranda, sitting quietly with her arms crossed in front of her, looking incredibly bored. Her heart sank at Samantha's admission. She had never taken her friends to be the sort of people to treat others in such a way.

She turned to face them all. "Guys, come on, don't tell me I struck up with the bullies."

Joker chuckled. "_We're _not the bullies. We're the good guys."

Shepard shook her head. "Well it kind of seems like you're being exclusive assholes."

He rolled his eyes. "God, you have so much to learn."

She looked to Ashley for help, but the girl only shrugged. "She's kinda crazy, Shepard. Total control freak."

"At least you know you'll get an A," Samantha said softly, trying to soothe Emily.

"Yeah but is it worth the psychological torture?" Joker replied with a snicker. He leaned in towards Shepard and whispered conspiratorially. "Jacob tried to be her partner back in the beginning of the year because he had the hots for her. He'll never admit it, but she totally made him cry."

Shepard sighed. They were just being kids, not overtly malicious, but it was still disappointing. Who knew Joker was such a gossip?

Emily had her head splayed on her desk, groaning. "You guys all suck."

Shepard felt a stab of guilt at her obvious despair. The girl wouldn't have been put in that position if it hadn't have been for her.

"Does everyone have a partner?" Anderson called out, ready to let them get up and move about the classroom if their situation demanded it. He was looking directly at Miranda as he spoke, and Shepard briefly wondered how often this had happened in the past.

"No sir," he voice was quiet, but strong. There was no hint of embarrassment or agitation. She was stating a fact, completely at ease with the turn of events, not bothered in the slightest. Whether it was due to true indifference or simple experience Shepard couldn't be sure.

Both options made her sad.

"Well we have an even number in this class so who else is free?" He glanced around the room. "Come on, no groups of three."

She wasn't quite sure why she did it. Maybe she was feeling bold, maybe she wanted to stick it to Joker, or maybe she wanted to be sure that whoever spoke up wouldn't come back from the project ready to spread more vicious rumors. Shepard would never be sure. Either way, before Emily could reluctantly own up to her abandonment by her friends, Shepard raised her hand.

"Uh, that would be me, sir."

* * *

"Hi," Shepard breathed out as she occupied the space next to her new partner. She wasn't sure if it was because of all of the rumors she had heard, or because the girl was looking up at her with such obvious disinterest, but she suddenly found herself battling a wild bout of nervous energy.

Miranda offered a nod of acknowledgement, but little else, leaving Shepard to flounder as she tried to think of something to say. She thought back to all of the comments her friends had made. Ashley had labeled her a control freak, so she figured perhaps it would be best to show she wasn't going to be pushy moving forward.

"So, did you have any ideas about what you wanted to do?" That was good, right? Show she wasn't going to take charge and was open to ideas.

"A few." Miranda returned her eyes on the paper resting on her desk. She seemed keen to give Shepard as little of her attention as possible.

Shepard let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Care to elaborate?"

Miranda turned her head to face her slowly, heaving out a heavy sigh that clearly implied her time was being wasted. Shepard felt a stab of irritation in response.

"Hey, we have to work together here," she snapped. "Your attitude isn't helping anything."

Eyes narrowed, Miranda scoffed, and Shepard brought up a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration. She had to stay calm. There was no way to dictate how Miranda was acting, but she could always keep herself in check. Dropping her hand, she decided to go for the peaceable approach. Maybe Miranda was simply having a bad day.

"Sorry," she tried softly. "Why don't we start over? I'm Jane Shepard and you're Miranda," she trailed off, clearly prompting the girl.

"Lawson," Miranda replied, though her clipped tone implied she was far from subdued by Shepard's amicable approach.

"Okay," Shepard responded patiently. "Do you-"

"Don't do that," Miranda interrupted with another sigh, clearly annoyed.

"What?"

"I'm not looking for a friend, Shepard," she elaborated coldly. "Stay focused on the project and then we can be free to go our separate ways."

Shepard bit her tongue, trying to hold back a nasty retort. She should have listened to her friends and made Emily suffer through this. That's what she got for being a martyr. Instead, she took a deep, calming breath, and gave her new acquaintance a pointed look. "You know that I go by Shepard?"

Miranda scoffed. "Don't read too much into it." She glanced over Shepard's shoulder. "You keep very _loud_ company."

Shepard followed her gaze to the back of Joker's head and surprisingly found herself chuckling. "I suppose that's true." She was offered a curious look, but beside that, Miranda didn't respond. "He means well," Shepard continued in the silence that had followed.

The curiosity vanished, and was replaced with blatant boredom. "I'm sure he does."

After clearing her throat nervously, Shepard leaned in closer. "It's clear you're not interested in talking, so, uh, shall we just get right to it then?"

There was a good half hour left in the period, and Miranda made phenomenal use of the time. She worked like a woman possessed, as though she had been born for the sole purpose of completing the project before her. Samantha had mentioned to Emily that an A was inevitable. Shepard could now clearly see why.

Miranda obviously understood the material without any doubt, and worked with such finesse and dedication that Shepard was sure they were leaving the other groups in the dust. The only problem was, she felt a bit like dead weight.

Actually, she felt _a lot _like dead weight.

Shepard was useless, she had hardly any input in the direction of their work whatsoever. Miranda seemed less than inclined to even speak to her, and whenever she did, it was always 'This is what I'm going to do…' and never any actual discussion.

It became frustrating after awhile. Shepard might not be on the same level as Miranda, but she had been doing well in the class. Certainly she could manage to keep up if Miranda just gave her an opening. Not to mention, Miranda seemed to be trying to squeeze all three days worth of work into a single period.

It wasn't long before Shepard got the sense that the girl was trying to complete the task as quickly as possible so that the next two periods Shepard wouldn't have to be working with her at all. They could just sit silently and wait until presentation day.

Finally, it became too much.

"Can we maybe talk about some of the creative stuff?" Shepard questioned cautiously.

Miranda paused in her work, and side eyed Shepard almost suspiciously. "What about it?"

Her partner had just been working on the basics thus far, things like eye and hair color, so Shepard had figured that they could at least come up with the fun add ons they were required to put in. Now that Miranda was nearly glaring over at her however, she lost some of her confidence. "Well, we have to figure out what we're doing," she elaborated timidly.

"Fine," Miranda replied curtly.

Shepard fought the urge to roll her eyes. Then she thought of something and grinned. "Plus, we have to develop their back stories."

"Back stories?" Miranda's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yup," Shepard responded with a grin. "Our creations need inspiration. I'm not going to have a tree consisting of shameless baby makers. They need motivation."

"Motivation," Miranda repeated in disbelief.

"Drama," Shepard continued. "Romance."

Miranda blinked, and then held up the paper on her desk "That's not in the syllabus."

"The word 'creativity' is," Shepard shot back with a grin.

A thoughtful look crossed Miranda's features, and she returned the paper to the desk. Shepard hadn't said the words out loud, but inventiveness was mentioned on the rubric, and she had the sneaking suspicion that Miranda was more efficient than imaginative. Luckily for them, imagination was not something Jane Shepard lacked.

For a moment Shepard thought she was going to get angry, but then Miranda turned to her once more. "I'm listening."

The rest of the time was spent more easily. Miranda remained rather unresponsive for the most part, but she paid rapt attention to Shepard's suggestions, only shooting a few down when they got a bit too farfetched or intricate. All of her attempts to earn a bit of laughter fell flat, but Shepard did feel more at ease the longer they worked.

There was not five minutes left when Shepard asked the question. It had been nagging her every day since she had arrived at the school, and she couldn't help but try to get an answer when the opportunity so clearly presented itself.

"Doesn't it bother you?" she found herself blurting out suddenly. Every day she watched Jack and Miranda's routine. It was always the same. A nasty comment from the former, casual disinterest from the latter. Not once had they bypassed the ritual.

"Bother me?" Miranda glanced down at the work in her notebook, clearly confused.

"No," Shepard amended quickly. "I mean, how it is all the time, with Jack and stuff." She glanced away, embarrassed for even bringing it up when it so obviously was none of her business. "It's pretty awful."

When she risked a sidelong glance at Miranda, Shepard was relieved to see Miranda didn't appear affronted. Oddly, she looked almost bemused by the change in topic.

"Of course not," she replied after a moment. Shepard's look of confusion at the statement earned a wry smile. It was an entirely sarcastic and bitter expression, but it was the closest thing to happiness Shepard had seen on the girl's face thus far.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked, almost innocently. "Nothing bothers me. I'm a heartless bitch."

Shepard stared at her, unable to break eye contact. There was so much emotion in Miranda's gaze at the statement, so much depth, she couldn't even begin to fathom it.

It was the ringing of the bell that broke her focus.

Miranda was smirking as Shepard jumped in her seat, gathering her belongings quickly and gracelessly. When she did the same, Miranda pulled off the actions with far more finesse.

"As long as we work efficiently, we'll finish before class ends on Monday," she said simply.

Shepard nodded. "So, I guess I'll see you eighth period then," She tried by way of goodbye, not really sure of what else to offer.

Miranda merely presented a despondent stare, as though she hardly knew who Shepard was, let alone that they had another class together. Figuring that she probably hadn't remembered noticing her in the class, Shepard cleared her throat. "We have polisci together," she elaborated, waiting for the dawning moment of recognition.

Miranda blinked, "I know." And then she was gone.

"Major bitch, huh?"

Shepard jumped as Joker's voice sounded in her ear. He chuckled as she spun around to shoot him a murderous glare. "Don't do that," she warned.

He appeared unperturbed by her irritation. "I thought you could use a pick-me-up," Joker explained calmly. "It seemed like you were having a rough time. I could see you sweatin' from the other side of the room."

"Shut up," she murmured, rolling her eyes before offering a small smile to Samantha who stood a couple paces behind him. "How are you and Emily doing on the project?"

"Fine," she replied curtly. "We should head on to lunch," she continued, spinning on her heels before making her way out of the classroom without waiting for them to follow.

Shepard and Joker quickly took off after her, struggling to keep up with the brisk pace she had set.

"What's _her_ problem?" Shepard whispered quietly to her friend.

Joker just chuckled and threw an arm over her shoulder. "You're so cute and innocent," he sighed out condescendingly. "I knew you were going to liven things up around here."

* * *

As soon as Shepard entered through the back door into the kitchen of her modest home, she shrugged off her backpack and threw it carelessly onto to the kitchen table. Usually she wasn't one for tossing things around, but it was just that sort of day. Shepard was exhausted, mentally and physically.

Samantha had been acting weird all throughout lunch, and whenever Shepard shot Joker a questioning look he had only snickered in response. Because she was distracted by that whole development, her mind had been all over the place during gym and James had given her a beat down in their little makeshift indoor soccer game. By the time Udina's class came around, she was a bit cranky.

It was funny how every one of his lectures seemed to revolve around inane details about himself, even when they had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Forty five minutes of suffering through his mindless prattling had taken a lot out of her. Not to mention, she had stupidly tried to offer Miranda a polite wave and was outright rejected as the girl breezed passed without a backwards glance. So much for being friendly.

It was good to be home though, no matter how her day had ended, and as soon as her personal bounding ball of fur came charging through the kitchen to greet her, Shepard knew her sour mood didn't stand a chance in the world of surviving. Grunt, the chronically cheerful pitbull now bouncing up on his front legs in a frantic attempt to lick her face, was always able to make her smile. He had had a proper name as a puppy, but as he grew older and his tendency to snort grew more prominent, the nickname Grunt had sort of stuck.

She returned his greeting enthusiastically, dropping to her knees to allow him better access. When he finally pulled away she rubbed his head affectionately and stood once more. Shepard could hear the television blaring in the living room, which could only mean that her mother was home and had once again passed out in front of the local news. She could never stay awake in front of the tv it seemed.

As Shepard passed through the doorway into the other room, Grunt trailed closely behind. When Shepard was home, her faithful companion hardly ever let her out of his sight. To her surprise, her mother had managed to remain awake for once, and turned a bit on the couch to greet her warmly. She was still dressed in her hospital scrubs, which meant she hadn't been home for long.

"Come sit down," she playfully ordered her daughter while patting the empty space beside her.

Shepard did as she was bid, just like always, and Karin smiled affectionately at her. She would be the first to admit she hadn't been exactly prepared for motherhood. It had been thrust upon her however, whether she had been ready or not, and she counted herself lucky that Shepard had turned out the way she did, never giving her an ounce of trouble or showing any disrespect.

When her old friend Hannah Shepard had shown up on her doorstep all of those years ago, she had almost turned the child away. Now, she couldn't imagine her life without Jane.

"How was your day?" she asked gently as Shepard settled in beside her.

"Fine," Shepard replied with a shrug.

"Fine?" she mimicked, pulling a voice. "That's all you got for me? Fine?"

Again, Shepard shrugged. "Yeah, it was fine. Normal."

Karin crossed her arms, smirking playfully. "You didn't get stuffed into a locker? Nobody gave you a swirly?"

Shepard's eyes widened in genuine curiosity, "What's a swirly?"

She shuddered in response. "You don't want to know." In an attempt to direct the conversation in another direction, she turned her attention back towards the television where the news was still droning on.

"Wait," Shepard sat up straighter now, not letting her escape, eyes glinting with mischief. "What's a swirly and who gave you one?"

"Oh no," she replied, putting on a false air of self importance, "I was never the recipient."

Shepard's mouth fell open in mock alarm. "Was I raised by a bully?"

"Hey, it was a phase," she defended. "I was going through a rough patch."

"Yeah, I bet the kids getting 'swirled' were too," Shepard shot back.

"Oh come on," Karin practically whined. "I only did it one time."

Shepard gave her a skeptical look. "I hope you apologized."

"I did. My dad made me."

"Did you mean it?" Shepard asked with a pointed look.

"Okay, who's parenting who here?"

Shepard grinned. "I think I've proven on more than one occasion I'm the..." she trailed off, the tv catching her attention. She watched it with intense interest, brow furrowed at what she thought she had heard.

"Jane?"

"Wait, wait," Shepard waved her hand dismissively and shushed the older woman. "Hold on. Did they say Lawson?"

Karin glanced at the screen as well. "Uh, probably. There's some big merger going on. I don't know, I haven't been paying attention." She offered Shepard a curious look. "It doesn't really affect us, just two of the big business owners cut a deal with each other and I guess it means a lot of changes in the city."

"Big?" Shepard replied without looking away. "Like how big?"

Her mother chuckled. "Like they're so obscenely rich that it makes me want to hurt them." She reached out a hand and gently stroked her daughter's hair. "Why the interest, little Jane?"

Shepard was staring at the screen still, and could only hum out a distracted, "Hmm?" She sighed as the story switched on to another topic. "No, it's nothing. There's just this girl at school…" she trailed off. "Does this Lawson guy have a kid?"

"Honey, they probably just have the same name. These are the kind of people that hire personal tutors, or at the very least pay for ridiculously expensive private schools with prestigious reputations." She rolled her eyes. "I doubt any Lawson children are running about in public school with us commoners."

"Yeah," Shepard allowed, "you're probably right."

She wasn't.

* * *

A/N: More about Shepard's past later, and plenty of more clichés to come! Haha, oh god this is such a guilty pleasure. I'm having a ball.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm glad you guys are having fun with this :D

* * *

In most instances, Shepard was not a morning person. She was never one to leap out of bed, ready to tackle the day, especially not on the weekends. This particular Saturday was no different. She remained bundled up under the covers for a good half hour before reluctantly sliding out of bed when Grunt's nose shoved it's way under her blanket, bumping her arm impatiently.

There was a lot of groaning and complaining, but she did as the dog bid and rose to let him outside for his bathroom routine. She stood in the doorway shivering in the cool morning air as he traversed the yard slowly, nose to the ground, searching in earnest for the perfect location. While she kept an eye on him, she bitterly thought about the remainder of her week.

She wasn't upset, but due to the events the day before, it was looking to be a rather lonely weekend. Joker's parents were going on a weekend getaway, so he was stuck at home watching his little sister. Kaidan was probably free, but Shepard had yet to hang out alone with him before, and didn't know if it might be weird to randomly text him. They always saw each other with the rest of the group. She would be fine if Samantha was there, but apparently she wasn't in the girl's best graces at the moment.

If she had done something wrong, Shepard would happily apologize for it. As it was however, she really had no clue as to where the hostility had suddenly come from and silently prayed it wouldn't end in conflict. She wasn't the kind of teenager who thrived in drama, she was the kind that turned tail and ran from it.

His business complete, Grunt returned to the front porch and squeezed through his owner's legs to wriggle his way inside, scampering into the kitchen for the next part of his morning routine: breakfast. Shepard followed, and while she measured out a cup of food, he danced around her feet impatiently. Even after all of the time she had been with him, the sight still made her laugh. Grunt was the kind of dog that wagged his tail so furiously his whole body was taken along for the ride.

"Calm down," she said with a chuckle as she dumped the kibble in his bowl and watched him dive in with gusto. As the food was demolished, she set about whipping something up for herself. Her mom was at the hospital, so she would be fending for herself until late into the night.

When she finished her own meal, Shepard stayed seated at the table, mulling over her options. This was the first weekend in her new home where she wasn't playing catch up with her school work or hanging out with her friends. The day was hers, and she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do with it.

There was a loud grunt next to her, and she looked down to see a pair of warm brown eyes gazing up at her. She smiled and patted the dog affectionately, despite knowing that he only was by her side in the hopes she would eat sloppily enough that a scrap or two would tumble down his way. As she took in his beaming smile, she was struck with sudden inspiration.

"It's just you and me today buddy, so why don't we do some exploring?"

He cocked his head to the side, clearly confused, but his tail thumped back and forth wildly nonetheless, so she took that as a yes. There was a park not too far from her house, within walking distance she was pretty sure. For quite some time she had been meaning to take Grunt there to stretch his legs a bit, but had never found the time. Mind made up, Shepard ran back upstairs to get dressed, and slung her backpack over her shoulder, being sure to bring a water bottle for Grunt, and a book for herself in case they found themselves in the mood to lounge about in the grass for the afternoon.

* * *

It took longer than she thought to make it to the park, just under twenty minutes or so, but it proved to be worth the effort. Larger than she expected, it was a beautiful sight to take in. Grunt bounced in excitement as he absorbed the vast expanse of land, straining against his leash a bit in his eagerness to start sniffing everything in sight.

She followed his lead, letting him dictate where they went and what they explored. Eventually they came across a large pond that many of the fellow park goers seemed to be flocking towards. Shepard walked along the edge of the water absently, taking in the sights.

In the distance, two kids raced about in an open field tossing a Frisbee back and forth with abandon. Ducks waddled around her, occasionally jumping into, or flying out of the water. A couple lay stretched out on a blanket under a canopy of trees, chatting happily together. And a few paces ahead of her, a girl sat in the grass, arms firmly wrapped around a toddler that wriggled in her lap. Shepard skidded to a halt.

No, not a girl.

Miranda.

She squinted, trying to be sure. It was definitely Miranda, legs stretched out in front of her and child tucked in her secure embrace. It felt so surreal, seeing her outside of school. Almost like running across a teacher in the supermarket.

Miranda looked so calm and peaceful where she sat, so unassuming. For some reason, it made Shepard want to approach her. There was a warmth about her as she interacted with the child that wasn't present in school, a sort of openness. It stirred up Shepard's curiosity, and she felt herself being inexplicably drawn in.

She thought back to the news the night before, and the things her mother had told her. If what she suspected were true, Miranda was insanely rich. She studied the girl, looking for signs of this insane richness. The answer alluded her however, as her search proved futile. Miranda just looked like a normal kid. It didn't help that Shepard wasn't quite sure what distinguished an insanely rich person from the common folk.

If she wanted to verify her suspicions, there were three options of what she could do. Miranda could willingly tell her herself. Miranda could be tricked into revealing the information herself. Or, Shepard could just behave like a rational person and ask her friends if they knew next time she saw them.

"She'd probably be _really_ annoyed if we went over there," Shepard mused aloud to her companion. Grunt looked up at her and tilted his head to the side inquisitively, and she smirked down at him in response, her decision made. "Shall we?"

"Hi," Shepard called out cheerfully as she approached Miranda from behind. It was hard not to laugh when Miranda jumped in response, and then tried to save face by jerking her head back to glare up at the unwelcome intruder.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped, already on the defensive. All of the warmth Shepard had seen earlier had instantly vanished.

Shepard had been expecting the reaction, so it didn't bother her in the slightest, and she kept moving forward until she was by the other girl's side. "Uh, well," she started sagely, "see sometimes people go to parks, it being public property and all."

Miranda's eyes narrowed, and she turned her attention back to the child in her arms. "I mean what are you doing talking to me?"

"Wow, you are a ray of sunshine," she replied, ignoring the question altogether. Miranda simply scowled in response, prompting a chuckle from Shepard. "I get it," she continued wisely, making sure to sound sympathetic. "The pressures of being a teen mom must be absolutely draining."

Miranda's head snapped back in her direction, and her mouth fell open "I'm not," she stuttered, sounding positively scandalized. "She's not," her voice broke, and she swallowed to regain some control. "This is my _sister._"

Shepard beamed down at her before settling down in the grass herself, not waiting for an invitation. Grunt followed her lead, and stretched out on his belly in front of them. "I knew she was your sister," Shepard chuckled out, "calm down."

Miranda scooted over along the ground to put more distance between them, being sure to exaggerate her movements in the hopes that Shepard would catch on to just how unwelcome her attention was. She side eyed her classmate almost suspiciously, as though waiting for a personal attack.

"You are incredibly trusting," Shepard sighed out mockingly.

Stiffening at the jab, Miranda sniffed. "Shepard, if you don't have a question about the project it might be better if you just move along." There, she had said it. There was no mistaking her intention. Miranda was trying to relax, she didn't need some asshole pissing her off and taking cheap shots at her.

A heavy sigh was let out in response, and Shepard stretched her arms out behind her in the grass, leaning back. She didn't want Miranda thinking she had come over purely to torment her, getting the sick enjoyment Jack got out of it. Shepard genuinely wanted to be friendly. "Hey, look. Sorry," she offered honestly. "I'm not trying to cause trouble. I just wanted to say hello."

Miranda was about to respond, when a flicker of movement caught her eye. "Ori, no," she called out suddenly. Due to Shepard's distraction, she hadn't even notice the toddler wriggling free of her grasp and crawling with delight over to where Grunt lay. "Stop."

Shepard smiled as she watched the slow, deliberate movements that came with childhood. "Don't worry, he's good with kids," she assured the other girl as they watched her younger sister beating her hand cheerfully on Grunt's back as though it were a drum. He barely stirred in response, content to enjoy the attention from above and bask in the comfortable grass. "I'd calm him gentle, but I think he's just so lazy he hardly moves." She chuckled as little hands sloppily stroked the dog's head. "See? She likes him."

Miranda groaned as she watched the contact. "Oh good, germs," she replied sarcastically before leaning forward to scoop her sister up once more, returning the child to her lap.

"Wow, are you always this positive?" Shepard questioned playfully.

Clearly not in the mood to play along, Miranda's return was more harsh than teasing. "Only for the people I _really_ like."

Briefly, Shepard wondered if Miranda was _ever _in the mood to play along. "Lucky me," she shot back easily. Miranda seemed less than inclined to answer, so Shepard knew propelling the conversation along was up to her. Clearly, Miranda was hoping that if she remained quiet, Shepard would get bored and leave. Well, she was in for some disappointment. "So," Shepard tried with a casual shrug, "come here often?"

The question immediately earned a groan. There was a few moments of hesitation, and then Miranda, clearly reluctantly, replied. "Oriana likes the ducks."

"Brave kid," Shepard returned, nodding her approval. "I was terrified of those big nasty ones when I was younger." She blanched as traumatizing memories came rushing back to her. Birds had certainly moved to a low spot on her list of favorite animals after _that _trip to the lake house, and had never moved up since. "Actually, I still am," she admitted with a laugh.

"Those are geese," Miranda sighed out, clearly believing she was dealing with a complete moron, "not ducks."

Shepard shrugged at her condescending tone. "Eh, same difference."

Miranda blinked at the sheer idiocy of that claim. "No," she drawled slowly, "two completely different species of waterfowl."

Biting her lip to hold back her laughter proved a futile attempt. "I see you're really into comedy. That's great, me too."

"Is your sense of humor what got you kicked out of your old school?" Miranda snapped in return, annoyed at being laughed at.

"I didn't get kicked out," Shepard explained patiently. "I transferred. We moved."

"So you say," Miranda murmured, earning another laugh from her unwelcome companion.

"See? I knew you were funny." Shepard nudged her playfully with her elbow and Miranda instantly flinched away from the contact, shooting a glare that Shepard was starting to realize she would be seeing a lot. Okay, so no playful ribbing.

Before Miranda could reply, her focus was once again drawn towards her sister. The little girl was leaning over, reaching for a keychain hanging off the zipper of Shepard's bag. "Ori, no," she scolded lightly as the tiny hand clamped around its desired prize.

"She's alright," Shepard soothed. "It can't hurt her. It's too big."

"I don't want her breaking anything," Miranda explained in her clear irritation at Shepard's continued presence.

"It was like a dollar," Shepard insisted with a shrug, "don't worry about it. We've got an eye on her." She chuckled as her dog noticed the commotion and stuck his nose into their business, sniffing the key chain Miranda had just wrestled from Oriana's grasp with curiosity. "Look, she's got Grunt interested too."

Miranda raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Grunt?"

"Yup," Shepard replied proudly, reaching out to rub his head affectionately. "He's my baby, aren't you boy?" Grunt's tail drummed along the ground furiously, taking his whole backside with it as he looked up at her with admiration.

"I'd hate to see the father," Miranda deadpanned, and Shepard chuckled in response. Grunt glanced over at Miranda, panting heavily in the heat, and her nose scrunched up in disgust as she watched a line of saliva roll down his tongue and slide downward to meet the ground.

"More of a cat person?" Shepard teased as she noticed the expression of disdain.

"I don't really," Miranda hesitated, "do…animals."

"Oh no," Shepard sighed out sadly in response. "And here I thought we could be friends."

That received Miranda's full attention. "I already told you, Shepard. I'm not looking for a friend." Her voice took on the tone of a warning.

"Okay, okay, I hear you." Shepard took a deep breath at the girl's reluctance to be anything but difficult. "That doesn't mean we can't be _friendly_," she tried.

"Yes it does," Miranda insisted quickly.

"Why?" Shepard questioned, genuinely curious now.

"Because I can already tell what you're like," Miranda explained, her patience clearly waning.

"What am I like?" Shepard pressed.

"You're nosy, and you enjoy bothering people," came the blunt reply. "I don't need the added stress of you spending all of your time bothering me so you can go gossip with your little friends."

Shepard blinked at the total honesty. Miranda didn't even pretend to be diplomatic. "Wow, usually I just get described as 'playful'," she finally sighed out wistfully.

"I guess I'm just perceptive," Miranda shot back.

"I'd go more for 'presumptuous'," Shepard returned, an amused glint in her eye. The girl beside her clearly was the kind of person who thought she had everything figured out all of the time. Usually, Shepard held nothing but contempt for those who held that attitude. Currently though, she only found herself even more intrigued than she had been previously.

Miranda's eyes flashed dangerously in response, but there was surprisingly little anger to be found there. Perhaps irritation, yes, but something else had shown through as well. "Meaning?" she questioned.

"You're awfully quick to get rid of me," Shepard supplied helpfully, "considering we're yet to know anything substantial about each other."

Taken aback by Shepard's audacity in assuming she would be learning more about her despite her obvious disinterest, Miranda was unable to make a quick retort, and in the time she spent thinking, the variables of the situation quickly changed.

"Sorry, Miri," A voice suddenly sounded, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "I sorta lost track of the time…" The boy who had come sauntering up to where they sat trailed off as soon as he noticed Shepard's presence.

She studied him carefully, trying to work out if she had seen him in any of her classes before.

"Oh, who's this?" He asked curiously, redirecting his attention towards Miranda.

Evidently she hadn't.

"Hi," she offered warmly, "Jane Shepard. I just started school here not too long ago."

"Nice to meet you, Jane," he returned just as politely, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm Niket."

"You can just call me Shepard," she corrected automatically. It had turned into a habit of late, what with all of the new faces she had been coming across.

He raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say." And then his focus was back on Miranda. "You didn't tell me you were inviting someone." The accusation in his tone was poorly disguised.

"That's because I didn't," Miranda mumbled bitterly.

Taking that as her cue, Shepard quickly stood. "Sorry, I'm not here to cause trouble." She dusted off the front of her jeans, and bent down to take hold of the end of Grunt's leash. "I was just popping by to say hello. We should be getting home now anyhow." She straightened out and stretched before beginning to back away slowly. "I guess I'll see you on Monday, Miranda," she added with a grin and a quick wave at Oriana. "Bye, squirt."

"Buh," the toddler squealed out in delight at the acknowledgement.

Shepard laughed and then took off, Grunt obediently moving to her side. Niket settled down in his usual spot next to his old friend. "What was that?" he questioned her curiously.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Nothing worth mentioning."

* * *

It was in fact Kaidan who called _her_, so Shepard no longer had to worry about any potential awkwardness. She had been walking Grunt back home when the phone in her pocket had begun to vibrate.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Shep," he said cheerily. It was a bit jarring after the tension of the conversation she had just left. "What's up?"

"Not much," she replied distractedly, trying to coax Grunt along as he took too much interest in the flowers around the base of a mailbox they had been passing. The last thing she needed was for him to engage in a quick snack.

"Wow, tell me more," he returned sarcastically with a chuckle. "We're going to meet up tonight and try to find a decent horror movie. You in?"

Shepard's face scrunched up in confusion. "I thought Joker was out of commission for the weekend?"

"He is," Kaidan agreed. "It's just going to be me and Sam at my place."

"Oh," she replied, feeling suddenly tense at the mention of Samantha. "Okay, cool."

Apparently, he heard the apprehension in her voice. "Come on," he joked, "we're not that bad."

"No, I just," Shepard hesitated. She didn't want to stir up any trouble, but apparently whatever was going on, Joker had caught on. Perhaps Kaidan had as well. She took a leap of faith. "Is Sam mad at me?"

"Uh," he seemed confused by the question. "I don't think so. She hasn't said anything to me." There was a pause. "Why?"

"It's nothing," she denied quickly. "Forget it. I just thought she was acting a little off yesterday. Musta been my imagination."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about her being upset, Shepard. She likes you."

"Yeah, and she's been so nice up until now and," she trailed off as Kaidan's tone of voice sunk in. "Oh," she whispered quietly. The way he had laughed, the way he had put emphasis on the word 'likes'. A knot formed in her stomach, and all she could manage was another, this time louder, "_OH"_

He was _really _laughing then.

"Um," she spluttered stupidly, flushing despite the fact he wasn't actually there, "I uh, I'm not," she faltered, not wanting to say the word. "_You know_." Realizing how she sounded, she quickly backpedalled. "Not that I have a problem with…" She took a heavy sigh, too far gone to recover. She definitely didn't have a problem, she had just personally never even thought about it. "I'm just _not…_you know?"

She could plainly hear the smile in his voice. "I'll subtly pass the word along."

"Thank you," she sighed out in relief, exhaling loudly, feeling a little disconcerted by the revelation.

They left the conversation at her agreeing to attend, but she was more than flustered by the turn of events. She had never been aware of someone actively liking her before, at least not someone she genuinely cared about, so that was making her feel more out of her element than anything else.

It felt stupid to think about it, but any sort of interaction of a romantic nature still felt like a foreign concept. She had never been in a relationship before. The most scandalous situation she had ever found herself in was about two years back when she attended her friend's birthday party and this weird kid name Conrad who had been giving her funny looks all night manipulated a game of spin the bottle.

That was an experience she tried often to forget.

Shepard spent the remainder of the day lounging about. She halfheartedly did her math homework, too distracted by her own nerves to pay proper attention to what she was doing.

When it was time to head out, she reluctantly scratched out a hasty note for her mom about who she was with and pinned it with a magnet to the fridge before setting out on her way. She grimaced as she could hear Grunt whining for her on the other side of the door while she locked up. That was a sound she had to endure every day before she left for school.

Joker's house seemed to be their default location, so Shepard had never been to Kaidan's home before. It was a nice place, bigger than her house and clearly kept immaculate at all times. She wondered briefly if it was his mother or father who was the clean freak. Or perhaps, it was her friend himself.

She had arrived before Samantha, which was something of a relief. Anxious energy swirled about within her at the prospect of being face to face with the girl. It wasn't long before she arrived however, and the three of them were sat on the couch in Kaidan's basement, watching a masked man hack up a gaggle of drunk teenagers

To her surprise, Samantha was acting completely normal, as if she hadn't been cold on Friday in the slightest. Shepard knew for a fact Kaidan had yet to say anything to the girl, so apparently Sam had gotten over her irritation.

Shepard wasn't stupid. Once she had heard about Samantha's interest she understood where the hostility had come from. After all, she had practically ditched Sam for Miranda without even asking. At the time it had felt like doing a good deed for Emily's sake, but looking back she should have at least run it by her friend first.

The entire movie, Shepard found herself glancing past Kaidan and over at Sam, her thoughts running wild. Objectively, she did find her friend attractive, but not in the sort of way that stirred any feelings within her. Come to think of it, when was that last time she had found a guy appealing in that way?

Her only basis to go on was the glorified imaginings of Hollywood films and the occasional young adult novel, but wasn't she supposed to _know_? Wasn't there supposed to be that feeling? The inexplicable draw between two people that had been romanticized since man had first put pen to paper. Was that real?

Confused, and a bit embarrassed by her errant thoughts, Shepard missed the majority of the film. Judging by the acting she did catch however, that was no great loss. When all was said and done, and it was time to return home, Shepard lingered behind with Kaidan for a bit as their friend pulled away.

"You sure I can't give you a ride?" Kaidan asked for what was certainly not the first time. Sam had offered as well before she left.

"It's really just a few minutes," Shepard insisted. "I like walking."

He shook his head. "Probably best not to do it alone in the dead of night though."

Shepard grinned at the sarcasm in his voice, and patted him on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow." Sunday was Galaxy of Fantasy day, Joker or not. Kaidan nodded in response, and she began to descend the front steps. Suddenly however, before he could close the door, she paused and turned back around to face him. With all of the stuff involving Samantha, she had totally forgotten what she had earlier intended to ask her friends about.

"Hey," she started quickly, "this is going to sound really weird, but do you know anything about Miranda?"

He blinked, clearly taken aback. "You're right," he managed finally. "That does sound really weird."

She chuckled. "No, sorry. I've just been working with her on this project," she elaborated, not missing the sympathetic look that crossed his features, "and then on the news they were talking about this Lawson guy and I thought maybe-"

"Yeah," Kaidan cut in knowingly, "that's her dad." He scoffed. "Why do you think she used to have her little army of followers? It's easy to be popular when you're rich."

"I knew it," Shepard replied, almost triumphantly. Her mother had been right about one thing though, it certainly didn't fit that Miranda was randomly in the public school system. Wisely, she decided not to ask about that. With the look Kaidan was already giving her it was clear that very quickly she could come off as stalker-ish or creepy. Not to mention, it was hardly likely that he would have the answer.

"Okay," she laughed out awkwardly, backing down the remaining two steps until she reached the ground. "I'll see you around. Thanks."

He wished her goodnight, and then she set off for home, lost in thought.

* * *

Shepard was excited to find herself sitting beside Miranda once more when Monday rolled around. She was curious as to how the meeting would play out. To her surprise, and disappointment, Miranda acted exactly as she had the Friday before. Their chance meeting on Saturday wasn't even mentioned and she showed no inclination towards being friendly.

Disheartened, Shepard once again let Miranda take charge, working diligently on the parts of the project the other girl allowed her to, and watching intently when she wasn't permitted input. As she looked on, she let her mind wander.

Miranda Lawson was quite possibly exceedingly rich, and yet somehow was demeaning herself with a project that was so obviously below her intelligence level in a school that was struggling to afford a full faculty. Her curiosity overwhelming her, Shepard couldn't resist attempting to pry.

"I bet one day all of this stuff won't even matter," she sighed out, eyes scanning the work in her notebook.

"What?" Miranda questioned disinterestedly, never looking up from her paper.

"Figuring out all of this genetic stuff," Shepard elaborated. "I bet someone will make the technology to like make people a certain way, and eventually everyone will do it."

"Wow," Miranda drawled, sarcasm dripping from her every word, "that's quite an imagination."

"Makes sense though, right? More than half the people in the world put way too much stock in appearances." Shepard thought about it for a moment, and then laughed. "They'll be trying to make babies that look as perfect as technology will allow." She shook her head then, and gave a wistful sigh. "It'll backfire on them though."

"How do you figure?" Miranda question sardonically, her tone implying that whatever Shepard's answer was, it would be one of the least interesting things she had ever heard.

"Nobody will be able to tell each other apart," Shepard continued, undeterred by her partner's attitude. "We'll all look basically the same."

Miranda scoffed. "What happened to 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'? People have different ideas of what physical characteristics are appealing."

Shepard flashed her a disarming grin. "Is this your way of telling me you're a romantic?"

"Not to encourage your imagination," Miranda pressed, ignoring the question completely, "but I think that sort of technology would be far too expensive for the common man to have access to. It would likely be used as a sort of power play, a symbol of influence. Only certain wealthy people would be likely to obtain it, and even then that would be _way_ in the future."

Shepard tried hard to bury her excitement. She was close now; Miranda was going to slip up. "What do you mean 'certain wealthy people'?"

Rolling her eyes, Miranda refocused on her paper. "I mean immoral and egotistical lowlifes who think modifying their children will enhance their social status."

"Because you know so much about the inner workings of the rich," Shepard supplied.

Miranda pursed her lips, and her attention shot back to Shepard, the murderous expression she wore daring her partner to utter just one more word. It was out then.

Miranda knew Shepard knew.

Shepard knew Miranda knew she knew.

There was a whole lot of knowing going on, and Miranda was far from pleased.

"Can we just get back to work?"

Shepard grinned, beyond satisfied. "Yes, ma'am."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry about the wait. Some more goofiness for ya! Enjoy.

* * *

As Miranda had predicted the previous week, they had completed their project by the time the bell rang. In fact, they had completed their work a good while _before _the bell rang, and found themselves sitting in an admittedly awkward silence while the groups around them continued their work in earnest.

Shepard attempted polite conversation a number of times, but Miranda made her disinterest painfully clear and she was soon forced to give up. The shrill sound of the bell cutting through the heavy silence between them came as a welcome relief, and Shepard quickly slipped away to reunite with her friends.

Lunch was a nice break after the tension, though Shepard still found it hard to focus on the jovial attitude of her companions. Kaidan and the reaction of the girl herself had confirmed Shepard's suspicious about Miranda's father, but now she had even more questions to ponder.

Clearly Miranda's wealth was common knowledge among her peers, Kaidan had made that much clear through his comments. So why had Miranda been so defensive about Shepard's prying? Apparently she had used her status to boost her popularity in the past, so why had it turned into such a negative thing?

Maybe it was just Shepard's approach. Miranda obviously wasn't a fan of being questioned, and perhaps Shepard's persistence was putting her off. She made a mental note to back off a bit. Shepard's curiosity often got the best of her, but she didn't want to become too overbearing. Playful persistence on her part could too easily become annoying inconvenience for Miranda.

"Dude," Joker started, his voice slicing through Shepard's thoughts, "don't you ever get sick of ham?"

She gave him a curious look as she tried to grasp his meaning, before catching on and glancing down at the sandwich in her hands. "What's wrong with ham?" she questioned almost defensively.

"Nothing," he replied honestly. "I just think you've brought it every day since you've come here."

He was right of course. It wasn't as though she had an unhealthy fondness for the deli meat however, she just kept it out of courtesy. It was easier for her mom to purchase the same items every week. Not to mention, easy to slap together. When Shepard rolled out of bed in the morning it was nice to throw together an easy sandwich without having to expend too much brainpower.

Kaidan snickered from across the table. "Careful, Joker. Someone might think you're getting stalkerish."

His friend sniffed as though deeply insulted. "I can't help it if I'm observant."

Shepard grinned. "Yeah, well observe someone else."

Sam giggled from where she sat next to Kaidan, earning a mock scowl from Joker. The rest of the day passed quickly. Shepard gave up completely on trying to show any sort of friendly attitude towards Miranda in Udina's class, and they reverted back to their old routine of simply ignoring one another. Well, Shepard reverted. Miranda couldn't, as she had never moved passed that stage.

* * *

Tuesday in Anderson's class was certainly a rough patch in her week.

As they had finished their work, there was no further necessity for them to converse, a fact which Miranda clearly took to heart. So, they sat side by side while the groups around them dutifully worked on, never saying a word to one another. Shepard had tried in the beginning of the period, she really did, but Miranda quickly pulled out a textbook for another class and began reading with gusto.

Apparently, homework was a more appealing pastime than speaking with Shepard. Great.

It wasn't until the bell was a few minutes away from ringing that Miranda acknowledged her. Closing her book, she turned in her desk to get a proper look at her partner. "Shepard," she started, her tone all business, "we need to discuss our presentation."

Shepard nodded her understanding but wisely remained silent. She had been working with Miranda long enough now that she knew when the girl said the word 'discuss' she really meant to shut up and pay attention.

As expected, Miranda continued on briskly, holding out her notebook and pointing to the areas that were relevant as she spoke. "You will explain these sections. I'll do this one here," her finger trailed down the paper slowly, "and this."

Shepard was taken aback. That was certainly the most control Miranda had ever relinquished in their time together. In fact, the vast majority of the speaking had been given to her. "Are you sure that's how you want to do it?"

Miranda raised an eyebrow, sporting a bemused expression. It was certainly a patronizing look, but at least it was better than the usual scowl she had been wearing of late. "I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't sure," she pointed out as though speaking to a child.

Briefly, Shepard wondered if the obvious superiority complex was a new thing, or if Miranda had been born that way. "I meant," she said slowly, trying her hardest to remain patient, "that I'm saying a lot more than you. If that's what you want fine, but I just feel bad. You did so much of the work, it's like I'm taking credit." Not to mention Shepard despised public speaking, but that wasn't the point she was trying to make.

"That was the point," Miranda deadpanned. "I do the thinking, you do the talking. I thought it would be prudent if we both stuck to our strengths." The bell rang, and with an almost mischievous glint in her eye Miranda threw her bag over her shoulder and took off, leaving a thoroughly irritated Shepard in her wake.

Never in all of her young life had Shepard meant somebody so condescending, offensive, and downright frustrating. It left her speechless.

* * *

Presentation day came quickly, and despite her usual nervousness at the prospect of having to stand up before the class, Shepard felt nothing but relief. Clearly Miranda was eager to be rid of her, and she was at the point where she no longer even cared. If Miranda wanted to be cold and distant and lonely than fine, it was none of her concern. Shepard was through with bending over backwards to be friendly with someone who was incapable of showing the same courtesy.

Miranda was actively disliked by many, and ignored by the rest, and Shepard had finally gotten a grasp on why. Next time Joker wanted to gossip about how awful someone was she was all ears.

The two presentation days went by quickly, mostly due to the fact she zoned out in every one that wasn't done by her or a friend. As ordered, she presented the parts Miranda had assigned her dutifully, and Anderson seemed impressed.

She found out that Sam had been right. When working with Miranda Lawson, one was guaranteed an A. It was just a shame that Joker had been right as well.

It was far from worth the psychological torture.

* * *

It was on Thursday afternoon when Samantha revealed the big news. The usual group was at Joker's house as usual. What was _unusual _was that instead of indulging in video games or movies, they were actually crowded around his kitchen table working through their homework.

It had all started because Shepard was struggling in math. She had been pestering Kaidan for assistance all week and he had finally caved. Joker and Sam, who had both been present at the time decided to invite themselves into the gathering despite not even being in the same class and everyone ended up at Joker's because for some reason that had become _their _place. Currently, they worked on their own class work while Shepard struggled to keep up with Kaidan. Apparently the kid had a gift for numbers, one Shepard most certainly didn't share.

It was then, while they were all engrossed in their separate tasks, that Samantha casually threw out the information. "Ash's house is going to be empty this weekend so she's having a party tomorrow night. She told me to let you guys all know."

There was a moment of silence and then Joker broke it with clear bewilderment. "_Even me?"_

Sam grinned. "I believe her exact words were 'you can bring the annoying one if you must'."

He beamed. "She totally digs me."

Kaidan rolled his eyes and reached a hand out to knock Joker's signature cap off of his head. It was something he and Sam did whenever Joker got too obnoxious or took a comment a step too far. Obviously his hat ended up on the floor quite a bit.

"Uh," Shepard cut in, almost nervously, "what kind of party is this exactly?" She had never really been to many in recent memory. "Like a birthday party?" She tried to keep the hopefulness out of her voice. Cake and presents were good. She was not really much of a drinker.

Okay, she didn't drink at all.

If this was going to be like the parties she had seen in the movies, it would certainly be an event she was going to skip. If she were honest, spending the night jam packed in a house full of sweaty, intoxicated teenagers while obnoxious music blared around her was just about her worst nightmare.

"Wow," Joker drawled out as he retrieved his cap from the floor and dropped it back on his head. "What are you, five? It's not a birthday party, you dork." Sam immediately knocked the hat off again.

"Don't be a jerk," she scolded playfully. He grumbled as he bent in his chair to retrieve it once more. "It's just a party, Shepard. Ash does this every once in awhile. A lot of people go, but it never gets too out of hand."

Shepard glanced around the table at her friends suspiciously. "Do you guys drink?"

Sam glanced away quickly, which told Shepard everything she needed to know. Kaidan was a bit more straight forward and offered a little wink. Joker on the other hand was beaming.

"Every damn day." Once again his hat met the floor.

"Occasionally," Kaidan corrected just as Sam mumbled a quiet, "Rarely."

Shepard grimaced. Even according to the geeks she was a loser. She had just never really had an interest in drinking, and quite frankly, she still didn't.

Joker gave her a pointed look as he made sure his cap was more snug around his head. "This is a cool kid's party, Shep. Ash is like leap and bounds above us on the food chain. We totally got a sympathy invite so the pressure is on. Whatever you do don't make me look lame."

"Trust me," Kaidan replied dryly. "You don't need her help." Immediately playful bickering ensued between the two boys.

Shepard hadn't needed the warning. She had long ago figured out Ashley was a part of the popular crowd. Certainly not a member of Maya's gang, as she had made her dislike of the girl known a number of times now, but she was well known just the same.

She was athletic, good looking, and intelligent. That was pretty much all it took. Luckily, it clearly hadn't gone to her head. She was as well liked as she was well known, just as Shepard had discovered James was. She was kind to Shepard's friends even though she didn't need to be because she was a good person, plain and simple. Plus, she clearly had taken a shine to Sam. Shepard hadn't missed the protective streak she seemed to have towards the girl.

As much as she liked Ashley however, Shepard didn't fancy the idea of spoiling her Friday night in what was sure to be an uncomfortable social event. "You don't have to worry about it," Shepard finally said, breaking up the squabble instantly. "I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"How come?" Kaidan questioned.

"Not really my scene," she explained rather lamely.

"You can just hang out with us all night," Sam tried softly. "It won't be any different than normal really."

Joker snickered. "Yeah, just like a normal Friday night. The only difference is that you'll be in a completely new place and surrounded by strangers illegally consuming alcoholic beverages. Oh, plus all of the drugs."

"Joker," everyone groaned in unison.

Three hands knocked his hat through the air.

* * *

Friday was admittedly a bit of a blur. Apparently just about everybody in or related to Shepard's circles was invited to Ashley's, and she found herself hoping for her friend's sake that Ashley resided in a mansion. It was a day full of 'no I can't make it' and a bit of 'I'm actually feeling a little under the weather', and even one 'Shut up, Joker, I said no so get lost'.

She thought that gym might have been a reprieve from all of the insistent questioning on her reluctance to attend, but even the usually laid back James was being persistent.

"Oh come on, Lola," he pressed as they jogged around the track side by side. The entire past week had been dedicated to the state testing they were forced to go through every year, and the final day was reserved for the infamous mile.

A couple of the more athletic boys and girls had shot out in front and were racing their way around the track at top speed, trying to best one another's times. The still sporty, but significantly less competitive folk like James and Shepard, took it at a light jog while the slackers and those too proud to show any effort trailed aimlessly behind gossiping and chattering.

"I'm just busy," she returned as they bounced along, refusing to look over at him. She had never been a good liar.

"Bull," he called out loudly, though not unkindly.

She groaned. What was with the kids here? If she didn't want to go, what was the big deal? At a loss, she decided to go for honesty. "I'm just not very comfortable with the whole thing."

"We're not going to be snorting cocaine," he teased, and then sobered quickly. "Relax, Lola. Nobody is going to make you do anything you don't want to. Just come and hang out for a bit, no big deal."

"Yeah until the cops show up and everyone has to bail by jumping out of windows and hiding in the woods," she grumbled bitterly.

He chuckled. "You watch way too many movies."

That was more true than he knew. Reluctantly, she agreed to make an appearance. After all, she lived in the real world. Nothing _that _dramatic could possibly happen. Right?

* * *

There may not have been drama, but it for sure sucked just as much as she thought it would.

Shepard stood along the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible as what felt like millions of people pushed past her. Every once in awhile she would try to find a new location that was out of the line of traffic, but that was hard to do when everywhere was in complete chaos. Against the wall seemed her safest bet. At least no one could get around behind her.

She had shown up with her friends, as Kaidan had offered to pick them all up beforehand, but quickly the two boys had dispersed into the crowd. Joker had probably caught sight of someone to harass and Kaidan most likely had found one of his other friends. Thankfully, Sam had sensed Shepard's unease and dutifully stayed by her side, even when beckoned over by Lizbeth and Emily, and then shortly after, Kelly.

As they had navigated the house together, Shepard had quickly surmised that word had gotten out about the gathering, and far more people had come than were ever intended. It was a bit ridiculous, but judging by Sam's reaction, or lack thereof, this happened every time Ashley threw a party.

Now as she stood against the wall, waiting for Sam to return from the bathroom, she tried her hardest not to let her mind wander to the comfortable calm of her own house, or the fact that she could be out in the yard with Grunt at that very moment, tossing around his favorite tennis ball.

In Sam's time away she had already been approached by three different guys asking politely if she would care for a drink. They were nice enough, so she assumed they must all have been friends of James, but she had no interest and kindly refused.

It was a relief when Sam returned to her side. "Did I miss anything?"

Only my utter despair, Shepard thought bitterly. Instead though, she settled for a small shrug. "Not really, no." Her voice was muffled by the deafening music pulsating around them.

Sam moved in a bit closer as a girl Shepard didn't recognize shoved past her rudely without a backwards look. "I'm sorry you were pressured into coming," she offered sympathetically.

Shepard gave a soft smile. "Don't worry about it. It's not really a big deal." She glanced around the overcrowded living room at the sea of strangers. "I just don't really know anybody."

"Neither do I," Sam giggled out before taking a sip of the drink in her hand. "Well, at least I know more than you," she teased before sobering up. "I'm not actually really into this, I just do it for Ashley," she admitted honestly. "I don't want to reject her when she asks, she's been a good friend to me."

Shepard nodded her understanding, smiling affectionately. She had found it rather weird that Sam would want to come, as the girl was definitely the shy type and struck Shepard as the kind who carried about a fair bit of social anxiety. It made sense now though, as she was also the type to put other's feelings before her own. Sam really was a fantastic friend, and Shepard counted herself lucky to have found her so quickly after the move.

"Well, it looks like you two are getting cozy." Joker's voice was jarring as he seemingly popped out of nowhere.

At his arrival, Samantha took a couple of quick steps back to put some distance between them. Shepard blinked in confusion; she hadn't even realized how close they had been standing.

"Did all of the girls reject you already?" Shepard shot back quickly, hoping to save Sam from anymore embarrassment as she noticed the girl was looking anywhere but at her friends.

He leaned up against the wall next to her, flashing a grin. "Twice." Before Shepard could pull together a witty response to the statement, his eyes widened and his mouth quirked up into a wry smile. "Uh oh," he drawled out slowly, "here comes trouble. Looks like we got a few party crashers."

"Oh no," Sam moaned from Shepard's other side.

She followed her friend's stares and found the object of their attention. Her heart sank. This was just perfect, as if the night couldn't get any less enjoyable.

"Just don't draw attention to us," Shepard hissed out of the corner of her mouth to Joker. There were enough people milling about that they could easily go through the night unnoticed.

"Whatever you say, Shep." He laughed. "Oooh, Ash is going to absolutely hate this."

Maya had entered the building, and she had brought backup.

"What am I going to hate?"

Shepard jumped as Ashley suddenly appeared. It seemed most of her friends had the uncanny ability to sneak up on her.

Joker threw an arm around their host's shoulder. "There you are, sweetheart."

She immediately scowled and shrugged him off. "I will kick your ass, Jeff," she warned. He wisely took a step back.

"Have you seen who's here?" Shepard asked as quietly as she could considering the volume of the music, nodding her head towards the new arrivals.

Ashley clearly knew who was being referred to as she didn't even turn her head to look before responding. "Ugh," she groaned, "yes."

"And you're going to let her stay?" Sam inquired, clearly shocked. Shepard noticed there was a hint of alarm in her voice as well.

"James wants to try this new thing where we all get along and are kind to one another," Ashley replied in a cruel and mocking tone.

"And you're cool with that?" Joker pressed, unbelieving.

"No," she answered quickly, suddenly sporting a sly smile. "But later I'm going to tell him _I _want to try a new thing where we don't have sex."

Sam giggled while Joker's face twisted up into a look of pure horror. "Too much information, Ash," he whined.

Ashley sported a smug smile after that, and then turned her attention to Shepard. "I'm glad you were coaxed into coming, Shep," she offered with a mischievous glint in her eye.

The words were normal enough to everyone else, but for Shepard her meaning was clear. Ashley was revealing it was her who put James up to pressuring Shepard into attending. The only question was, why?

She got on with Ashley well enough, but they weren't about have a sleepover or anything so it couldn't simply be a friendship thing. And _clearly_ she had more than enough guests so it wasn't a numbers issue. What did she get out of Shepard being there?

"Uh, yeah," Shepard responded awkwardly as she tried to pin down the answer to this new riddle, "thanks for having me."

Ashley laughed at the formal response that was usually reserved for parents, and her other friends joined in.

"Isn't she so cute?" Joker asked, reaching out to pinch her cheek. Shepard slapped the hand away, but was grinning good-naturedly. She felt more relaxed with her friends around her, even when she was the butt of a joke. It was far easier to tune out the prattling of the crowd of nameless strangers and the overwhelming stench of cheap beer with them nearby. In fact, standing there, joking and laughing, she was actually starting to have fun.

Naturally, with her luck, the merriment didn't last very long.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: This is so ridiculous and I don't even care. No shame.

* * *

It wasn't long before Joker became bored with their company and moved on to greener pastures, which for him meant making the rounds again in a desperate plea for attention from anybody who would offer it. Naturally he didn't seem to be having much luck.

Kelly quickly filled the empty space he left however, and soon she and Sam were chattering on animatedly. Ashley took the opportunity to throw her arm around Shepard and lead her through and open archway into the kitchen as she noticed her friend did not have a drink in hand.

"Come on," she laughed out quietly. "I'll get you something and maybe you'll lighten up a bit. You're as stiff as a board leaning against that wall."

Though she didn't physically resist the direction, Shepard put her hands up as they walked together. "No, I'm fine, really. Actually I don't even-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as suddenly a voice was booming around them. "Lola, I was wondering if you'd show up," James greeted her enthusiastically. He was standing in the kitchen flocked by a pack of his buddies, including Steve, who sent a small wave her way that Shepard shyly returned. Without Sam or Kaidan around she felt too out of her element to put any sort of confidence in the gesture.

Luckily, Kaidan chose then to reappear. Shepard was glad to see he appeared level headed and together, him being her ride home and all. Ever since he had vanished on them she was worried she would have to take away his keys and call her mom for a ride at the end of the night.

He chuckled as he took her stiff posture in. "Having a good time?" he teased with an understanding look in his eye. Kaidan had been one of the few who hadn't pushed her too hard when she initially declined the invitation.

"Of course she is," Ashley supplied on Shepard's behalf. "Now what do-" she cut herself off suddenly as she caught sight of a commotion in James' little pack. "Jenkins don't touch that. Get out of there," she shouted with a scowl before dashing away to go get the drunken football star out of her cabinets. James followed to give her a hand with getting him under control.

Kaidan shook his head at the development, before turning back to Shepard. She was able to register that he was in fact talking, but was too distracted to really comprehend the words, as over his shoulder, a scene unfolding through the archway and in the living room caught her eye. Sam had been making her way towards them through the crowd, but had been stopped by another. It didn't take long for Shepard to identify the girl.

She tensed as she watched Maya engage her friend in what was sure to be cruel conversation. Over the pounding music and chatter of the increasingly rowdy guests it was impossible to make out what was being said. All Shepard could do was read their body language and facial expressions.

Judging by both, it wasn't a friendly chat.

Eventually, much to Shepard's relief, Sam shook her head and started to resume walking away. However, Maya called something out after her, which stopped the usually timid girl in her tracks and painted an ugly expression along her face. Shepard watched with a careful eye, trying to will Samantha to move along with sheer brainpower. She had never seen her friend in such a state. The girl was near impossible to make truly angry. Whatever Maya said must have been horrible and the situation needed to be defused quickly. The last thing Sam needed to do was stand around and engage her antagonist.

Of course, that's just what happened.

Sam paused mid step, rage clear on her face, and whipped around to meet the taller girl head to head. Shepard would kill to be able to hear the violent discussion playing out between the two, for as angry as Samantha looked, Maya merely seemed amused with the current state of affairs.

Shepard was about to head over when suddenly Maya spat a few words out and followed them with an impish grin. Sam looked down at the floor in response for a moment, seemingly preparing a response, and then apparently thought better of it as she merely flashed her opponent a murderous glare before spinning on her heels and marching into the kitchen, backed all of the way by Maya's nauseating laughter.

At her arrival, Kaidan turned to greet their friend, but she didn't give him enough time to utter a single word.

"I think I'm going to head out." Shepard's heart clenched as she clearly heard the tremor in the words. Samantha was barely holding back tears.

"Woah there," Kaidan replied, eyes wide. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam lied quickly, ducking her head in a belated attempt to hide her emotions. "Thanks for having me, Ash," she called out to their host, who was currently prying an expensive looking serving plate out of a clearly dangerously intoxicated boy's grasp with James' help. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she continued.

"Wait, I'm driving you home," Kaidan reminded her.

"No it's fine," Sam mumbled as she fished her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. "I'll call for a ride."

"No way," Kaidan maintained. "I'm taking you home. You don't mind heading out, right Shep?"

"Not at all," Shepard replied honestly, keeping quiet about the scene she had just witnessed. She knew if she were in Sam's position she wouldn't want the altercation to be brought into the limelight, so she remained silent out of respect, intending to question her friend as soon as they were alone together.

"Great," he said, patting Sam's shoulder affectionately. "Just sit tight for a second, I'll go round up Joker." He took off into the living room.

And there was her chance.

"Sam, what happened?" Shepard questioned quickly, unsure of how long they had alone.

"Nothing," Samantha replied, glancing away, clearly embarrassed.

"Sam, come on," Shepard pressed. The girl had to understand she only wanted to help. "What did she say?"

"It's not a big deal," Sam maintained. "Please," she begged, still unable to meet Shepard's gaze, "just drop it."

The girl looked so distraught, Shepard's heartache at the development turned to anger. What right did anyone have to put Samantha in such a state? She was an absolute sweetheart who never had a bad word to say about anyone. There was no call for Maya to be such a stone cold bitch.

Whatever Sam had done to catch Maya's ire couldn't possibly be worth this torment. The more Shepard watched of this back and forth, the more it made her blood boil. And now that Sam was standing before her, barely managing to sniff back her tears, something snapped in Shepard.

She wasn't one to go picking fights, but this was ridiculous. It needed to stop, tonight. She wasn't going to passively let it go on any longer.

And then Shepard did something completely out of character. If someone had suggested even just an hour earlier that the night would have ended in such a way, she would have laughed in their face. As it was though, she knew what she had to do.

"You know what, Ash?" she called over her shoulder at her friend. "I think I will have that drink."

"Really?" Ashley turned away from the cabinet where she had just finished safely returning the plate. James had hauled Jenkins off and out of the room just moments before while his laughing bunch of friends followed, grinning. "What do ya want?"

Shepard didn't miss a beat when responding. "The strongest thing you have."

* * *

It was as though someone else entirely had possessed her body. Honestly, Shepard was on autopilot. As she moved through the crowd, her hands trembled, leading her drink to slosh about in the plastic cup she bore wildly. Whether the shaking was born from rage or fear she couldn't say, she only knew her destination.

No, her _target_.

Maya was sitting on the couch in the living room, gossiping animatedly with a pack of her girlfriends. Shepard zeroed in on the back of her head, moving forward steadily. Honestly, it was easy, almost a little _too _easy even, to execute her movements smoothly.

All it took was a step with her left foot, and then a half-step with her right. She let it swing too wide, catching the top on the leg of some unsuspecting member of the soccer team who was brazenly chatting up the head cheerleader. And then she let gravity take over, stumbling clumsily forward and attempting to steady herself on the back of the couch.

Of course, that wasn't really feasible, what with the drink in her hand. The bottom of the cup caught on the backrest and tumbled onto the unsuspecting girl on the other side.

Time stood still as Maya screamed in alarm, shooting up off of the couch cushions and spinning around with a murderous expression smeared across her face. Which was absolutely covered, Shepard noted smugly, in lukewarm beer. Though the music still blared on, the guests around them had fallen silent as all eyes were on them.

"You bitch," Maya screeched, venom dripping off each word.

Shepard straightened up. "I am so sorry," she spluttered earnestly. "Really, it was a complete accident."

"Oh I bet it was, you little shit," came the sharp retort.

Shepard sized up the girl that should have been so absolutely beautiful, alcohol drenching aside. It was such a waste, how she insisted on being so repulsive. "Sorry, I guess I'm just a little klutz."

Maya's face darkened as she caught the defiant glint in Shepard's eyes. The message was clear, messing with Sam meant messing with Shepard. That didn't seem to frighten her much however, as suddenly Maya was moving around the couch to approach her. Instead of backing away from the obvious attempt at intimidation, Shepard stood her ground.

She vaguely registered excited cheering from somewhere behind her, and who she assumed was Joker announcing a catfight was about to go down in the living room. And just like that her confidence suddenly wavered as she thought about just how much she was disappointing her mother. Why the hell had she done this again?

"Woah now, ladies." Her savior appeared in the form of James, Ashley at his heels. "It was clearly an accident, Maya. She tripped."

And as the girl's face softened a piece of the puzzle fit together. She clearly was attracted to James, and Ashley's hostility at having her present in her home made a lot more sense.

"Come on," he placed a gentle arm on Maya's in a blatant move to subdue her and lead her towards a darkened hallway where Shepard assumed existed a bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up." Maya's underlings followed as well, wordlessly after shooting Shepard some pretty hateful looks.

As he escorted her, Maya's voice could clearly be heard. Instead of exhibiting anger now, she was only crying out in sorrow and embarrassment, playing the victim in a transparent attempt to obtain some sympathy. Shepard's jaw clenched at that. What an actress.

Ash watched them depart and then looked around at the people surrounding them. "Show's over folks," she announced loudly, wearing a scowl until everyone eventually trailed away from the pair. When she turned to face Shepard once more, she had an unreadable expression on her face.

Shepard felt a stab of guilt as she realized the full extent of what she had done. Not only had she made a scene at Ashley's party, but she had made a mess as well. "I'm really sorry, Ash," she offered sincerely. "I'll help you get this cleaned up, I promise."

"You better," Ashley replied gravely, gesturing to the cushions of her couch that were quickly absorbing the spilled beverage. And then, suddenly, unbelievably, she grinned. "Even if we have to buy my parents a new sofa, it was totally worth it."

A flood of relief washed through Shepard as she realized she hadn't made two enemies in a single night. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied as solemnly as she could. "I tripped."

"Uh-huh," Ashley answered with a smirk, hands resting on her hips. "Your cup is empty by the way," she noted slyly. "Want a refill?"

Shepard grinned. "No thanks, I don't drink."

* * *

Kaidan had wisely extracted Samantha from the party before Maya could emerge from the bathroom and wreak havoc. Joker followed his ride out the door, but did so solemnly and with many loud complaints. Shepard had wanted to stay back to help Ashley clean up, as it was the least she could do for the girl after the trouble she had caused.

Together, they managed to recover the couch cushions. Luckily, it seemed Maya had taken the brunt of the attack. Time passed and the crowd thinned as kids stumbled out into the cool night air to start their journey home. When they heard James emerging with Maya about half an hour after the event, Ashley wisely grabbed Shepard's arm and dragged her to duck into the kitchen until the girl was safely out of the house.

There were quite a few stragglers for a time, and eventually Ashley was forced to cut the music before everyone caught on that things were winding down. Even then, James had to make a few rounds to ensure the most oblivious remnants of their peers took the hint.

Shepard traversed the living room with Ashley, holding the trash bag she had been given open as her friend sent empty plastic cups and other debris sailing through the air in her direction.

"So," Shepard drawled out a bit uncomfortably. She didn't want to upset Ashley by bringing up the topic, but it seemed the more intelligent approach than asking Samantha herself. "What's, uh, the problem with Sam? How did she piss off Maya so much?"

Ashley shrugged as she worked around the room. "Well, I don't know if you noticed but Sam's, well…" she trailed off, and then her nose wrinkled up in disgust as she continued, "and Maya is a fucking sociopathic, homophobic, whore."

"Wow, Ash. Tell us how you really feel," Shepard replied with a chuckle at the blatant rage being expressed.

That certainly answered all of her questions on the matter. Ashley clearly had a personal stake in slandering Maya's name, but still, Shepard considered her a trustworthy source of information. She was loud and quick tempered, but honest.

Her friend grinned at that. "Shut up, Shep. Anyhow, that's why she hates Kelly too, except Jack gets in the way." She offered Shepard a pointed look. "I'm not a fan, but anyone that strikes that much fear into the heart of our reigning queen is okay by me."

"Who are we talking about?" James had returned from throwing a particularly sloppy drunk out into the yard and looked between the two girls with interest.

"No one," Ashley responded before Shepard could open her mouth. She gave her boyfriend a serious look. "Can I trust you with Shep?"

He smirked down at her. "I trusted her with _you_, didn't I?"

Her nose wrinkled up at the comment, but there was no ire in her voice. "Very cute." She turned her attention on Shepard, and reached out to claim the trash bag for herself. "I can take it from here, Shepard. James will give you a lift home."

Shepard blinked, taken aback. Honestly she had planned at walking home by this point, despite the distance. It was far too late to inconvenience her mother, especially since she was working in the morning, and she didn't want to put any of her friends out. "You sure?"

"Yeah," Ashley said breezily, already engrossed in cleaning up the remaining trash. "Thanks for the help."

"Of course," Shepard replied, though she eyed James suspiciously, looking for any obvious signs of intoxication. He'd been mingling with other people for the majority of the night so she had no idea how much he had ingested.

Apparently, he caught wind of her hesitation. "Don't worry, Lola. I hardly had anything," he assured her.

"He's no lightweight," Ashley agreed from behind the couch where she had stooped down to retrieve a few abandoned cups. "Besides, you should know by now I wouldn't do that to you."

Shepard chuckled awkwardly. "Right, sorry. Thanks," she added quickly. "I'll see you on Monday."

"Sure thing, Shep," Ashley called out after her as she trailed James out the door.

* * *

As soon as Shepard awoke on Saturday, memories of the previous night came rushing back to her. Groaning in embarrassment, she pulled the covers over her head. She felt completely horrendous.

The thing was, the night before everything had seemed like a splendid idea. Giving Maya the beat down she deserved, defending her best friend, playing hero, it had all felt fantastic. Now though, the high of victory had worn off, and her anger on Sam's behalf had cooled down.

She was left with nothing but realization at what a stupid and immature thing she had done. Stupidly immature, that was her. She had caused trouble for no reason. After all, Maya was clearly an obsessive bitch who craved coming out on top. She wouldn't let this go. Shepard had likely only made the situation worse for everyone involved.

God, if only she could have offered words of comfort to Sam and mocked Maya behind her back like a normal person.

To make matters worse, she had slept in by a good two hours. Poor Grunt was probably starving, as her mom was at work and likely hadn't fed him. She shot out of bed at the thought and ran to her door, opening it to find him obediently staring up at her, waiting for his breakfast.

She apologized profusely before heading downstairs to feed him and let him out to stretch his legs for a bit, feeling guilty and all around crappy in every aspect of her existence. Her mom. Gosh, if she knew what Shepard had been up to she would die of embarrassment.

And then there was the issue of her cell phone, which had been vibrating all night. It got to a certain point where she had just stopped looking at the messages that were being sent. From what she had seen, there were plenty from mere acquaintances congratulating her on her courage, one from Joker unhelpfully reminding her that she was likely to get slaughtered on Monday, one from Kaidan trying to work out what exactly she had been thinking, and one from Sam, suggesting that they should set aside some time to talk. All remained unanswered, as she had opted to silence her phone and go to sleep.

Shepard groaned once more as her hands shot up to run through her hair. She couldn't deal with this right now. It was too much. She needed to clear her head. Making a snap decision, she devoured a quick piece of toast and ran upstairs to get dressed before returning to the kitchen and whistling for Grunt. He responded to her beckoning at once, and she clipped on his leash before leading him outside.

Just a few hours of peace, that was all she needed.

* * *

The park was just as she had remembered it. Wide and open and beautiful and just what she needed to find a bit of peace after the idiotic drama that had been plaguing her of late. Just as she had the first time, Shepard let Grunt take the lead, dictating what flowers were sniffed and what trees were urinated on.

Unconsciously, it seemed they followed a similar path as their first adventure, and once again were trailing along the outskirts of the pond. Shepard was actually only a few feet behind Miranda before she even recognized the girl's presence. The scene was almost precisely the one she had walked in on previously.

Miranda sat with her legs stretched out in front of her, Oriana tucked securely on her lap, staring out over the pond. Immediately, Shepard took a step back at the sight, knowing she should turn away. After just suffering through a debacle with Maya the last thing she wanted was to endure Miranda's bad attitude. She had come here to find some peace, not another altercation.

Still, something held her back from fleeing the scene.

Oriana shifted around to look up at her sister, and the expression Shepard witnessed cross her classmate's face was perplexing. It was there again, that warmth, that kindness. Things that should have felt so very out of placing coming from Miranda but somehow weren't.

Reluctantly now, Shepard held herself back. What she saw from a distance didn't matter, because she knew what would happen if she approached. Miranda would clam up and close off, offering nothing but snarky quips and scathing remarks. There was no choice but to move on. No good could come of intruding.

Except, apparently the universe had other ideas.

"Dah," Oriana squealed out suddenly in excitement at a familiar face. She had peered over her sister's shoulder and saw that they had an audience. At first, Shepard believed the youngster recognized _her_, but as she followed the girl's eyeline, she noticed with amusement that it was in fact Grunt that she was calling to.

As endearing an event as it was, unfortunately the commotion meant that she now had Miranda's attention as well. Figuring that it was better to be caught approaching than caught standing and staring, Shepard reluctantly started towards the pair.

"Hey, squirt, how are you doing?" Shepard directed her attention towards the younger sister.

"Dah," she repeated with just as much enthusiasm, delighted Grunt had come even closer.

"Same here," Shepard replied somberly.

"Are you stalking me now?" Miranda questioned, eyes narrowed in irritation at the intrusion.

"Don't flatter yourself," Shepard replied cheerfully. "I'm stalking her," she explained, pointing down at Oriana with a grin.

"Bawob," the toddler returned in gibberish.

"Exactly," Shepard responded sagely as she threw caution to the wind and settled down in the grass next to Miranda.

The girl opened her mouth to protest when she felt something wet and cold slide against her arm. She turned her head and rolled her eyes as she found Shepard's dog nuzzling her for attention.

"Hello, Grunt," she sighed out in defeat. The two had made themselves comfortable, there would be no getting rid of them.

Oriana wriggled out of her grasp excitedly as Grunt lay down in the grass next to Miranda on the side that hadn't been occupied by Shepard. He patiently kept still as the child stumbled over to him, toppling onto his back. Miranda let her delighted sister bother the poor creature for a few moments before reaching out to collect her once more.

As soon as she was gone, Grunt rolled onto his back, two front legs goofily stretched up into the air. To Shepard's surprise, Miranda's lips quirked up at the sight and she absently reached out a hand to scratch his stomach.

"Watch out," Shepard warned with a smirk as she watched her dog squirm in delight, "you'll have a fan for life."

"What's one more?" Miranda sighed out wistfully, and Shepard genuinely laughed in response.

Miranda was so unbelievably confusing. She had been so rude to Shepard when last they spoke, and now she seemed so very different. Not outwardly friendly, no, but certainly more open. Sitting there, enjoying the warm sun shining down on them, it was easy to forget the woes of their past conversations. In fact, Shepard found herself ignoring her resolve to stay out of Miranda's way altogether.

After what she had seen last night, it was clear Miranda was nothing like Maya, no matter what Shepard had heard from the rumor mill around school. Once again, she found her curiosity overwhelming her common sense.

"Speaking of," she tried as casually as she could manage, "I hear you used to be quite the social butterfly once upon a time." No question was directly asked, but Shepard's curiosity was clear.

Miranda scowled at the comment, and removed her hand from Grunt to wrap around her sister once more. "Seems like you've been talking to the wrong people," she mumbled bitterly.

Her tone was an obvious suggestion to drop the topic, but Shepard chose to ignore it. "Do I need to find new sources of information?" She pressed.

Miranda eyed her suspiciously, looking rather confused. "Why the interest?"

Shepard shrugged, feigning indifference. "Just making conversation."

"Well don't," came the quick reply.

With a heavy breath, Shepard leaned back on her arms in the grass. "Okay, I get it. I'll stay within the boundaries," she lied, fully intending to keep pushing her luck. "I just was confused, that's all."

Miranda knew she was being baited, but she couldn't help the curiosity that took form within her. "About what?" she questioned cautiously, hoping she wouldn't regret playing Shepard's game.

"I just can't imagine you going around with Maya and all of them," Shepard elaborated truthfully. The statement wasn't merely a trick to coax Miranda into revealing information, she genuinely didn't understand how the girl she was talking to now had ever associated with people as disgusting as Maya.

No, not merely associated. _Lead._

Miranda scoffed, attempting to block the unpleasant memories that had come rushing back to her. "Yes well, that was a long time ago." She glanced down at Ori, who sat on her lap, reaching out a chubby arm as far as she could to tug gently at Grunt's ear with a wide grin on her face.

"Really?" Shepard leaned forward once more, catching Miranda's eye. "Those guys were honestly your friends?"

Miranda shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. "Why is that so surprising?"

She prepared herself for the inevitable joke of having no friends, of it being surprising that anyone had ever once cared for her at all. It was one she heard increasingly often of late.

"Because you're not an elitist asshole." Shepard's nose scrunched up as she spoke, disgust clear on her features as she thought of how Ashley had described Maya. Sure, Miranda could be condescending and offensive, but a 'sociopathic, homophobic, whore' she was not.

Miranda considered her for a moment, her face expressionless, and then she surprised Shepard by allowing a small smile to pass her lips. "How do you know?"

Shepard thought about that for a moment, and then she shrugged. "You keep letting _me_ sit down, don't you?" Miranda chuckled, and for the first time in Shepard's presence it wasn't a sarcastic sound. There was actual humor to be found in the noise, and it planted a grin on Shepard's face. "I'm from the wrong side of the tracks," she pressed. "People will talk."

Again, Miranda was laughing, and her sister looked up at her, squealing in delight. She couldn't comprehend what was being said, but was ecstatic to join in on the merriment anyhow.

* * *

A/N: sorry if that felt like an abrupt cut off, the chapter was just getting too long. There will be more to the scene next time. I hope you guys are still having fun!


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